Seth Burkett is one talented and accomplished man.
He’s written four books. He’s an acclaimed speaker and has been doing talks in schools, universities, and businesses. He recently appeared in his first film, The Bromley Boys. And he’s an actual futsal star in the National Futsal Super League, playing for Southend Futsal Club. That’s the same club where he won the FA Cup just two seasons ago. He’s also a copyrighter, ghostwriter, and social media guru.
Simply put, Seth Burkett is not your average author.
His first book, The Boy in Brazil, was a tremendous success and was shortlisted for Football Book of the Year at the 2016 British Sport Book Awards. Burkett then wrote Developing the Modern Footballer Through Futsal and Football’s Coming Out, which was longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. His fourth book, No Final Whistle, launched just weeks ago.
The latter is a children’s book, which is certainly a change in direction for Burkett.
“I love writing and I’ve really enjoyed the experience of doing my three books so far. My last two books had been ghostwritten, which I really enjoyed, but I wanted to put together something which I had full ownership over, something where I wasn’t relying on someone else for the content. In the last few years I’ve been visiting schools to give talks. As a child I loved football books and reading about inspirational stories. It just made sense to try my hand at something totally different. I like to test myself and get out of my comfort zone, and writing for children seemed the perfect way. It’s been a great experience and I hope to write many more books for children.”
His latest offering centers around a subject near and dear to his heart.
“There are a lot of excellent children’s books about soccer. With No Final Whistle, I’m targeting readers aged 9-12. But what I think sets it apart is that it’s based off my own lived experiences. I’ve played in academies and experienced professional football, so I hope that gives my story an edge. No Final Whistle is all about resilience. Just because one person says you’re not good enough, it doesn’t make their opinion fact. It’s a subject close to my heart after suffering from the rejection of being released from two different academies as a youth player.”
Connections to his real life were also found back at his first book.
“Everything I write about is based on my own experiences. I was always told to write what I know. Maybe when I’ve established myself a bit more as a writer I’ll be able to branch out.”
His passion for futsal came through in his second title.
“I was first introduced to futsal as an eight-year-old in the Peterborough United Academy. I took to the game immediately. Then when I returned from Brazil my international clearance didn’t come through until the end of the season, so I started playing in a local futsal league with my agent. That then led to me being asked to train with Loughborough who played in the National League. I scored a hat trick on debut and never looked back. My coach at Loughborough, Michael Skubala, came to me after I wrote my first book and ran an idea by me. He wanted to write a coaching manual for futsal but didn’t have much time and wanted some specialist knowledge on the actual writing and publishing side of things. I put a proposal, got us a deal and then put his words into slightly better words. The book has been a bit divisive – some in the futsal community think that selling the sport as a development tool is a disservice – but as far as I’m concerned there’s no argument that futsal does indeed develop footballers.”
Burkett’s love of futsal comes through loud and clear. He certainly believes that in can be a difference maker in a player’s development.
“Before I started playing futsal properly I could only play full back and centre back. Then I started playing week in, week out, and my football manager started moving me around the pitch. ‘You can play 360 now, Seth’, he told me. Within three months I went from sweeper to attacking midfield. Playing in confined areas, where time and space is at a minimum, you learn to make quick decisions. You technique improves, you’re constantly working both attacking and defensively. It’s an exceptional tool. In England we’ve been slow on its uptake due to the success of 5-a-side, which couldn’t be more different from futsal. Slowly we’re breaking through though, and I think it’ll be the same in North America. Once you get kids playing, you’ll see a change. There’s also something about the culture. In Spain futsal is successful because football fans appreciate slow build-up play and intricate passing. In England our fans like kick-and-rush and playing at 100mph, which doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with futsal. I imagine it’s probably the same in North America. But things will change.”
Writing each book proved to be unique and special in its own way and provided Burkett with valuable learning experiences.
“The actual writing of a book makes up such a small part of writing a book. If you aren’t willing to put in the effort when it comes to sales, marketing, and even building relationships, your book is never going to take off.”
The writing prowess actually runs in Burkett’s family. He’s found the industry to be very welcoming in a number of ways.
“My grandmother is a published author who had great success over a long career. Ever since I was old enough to pick up a pen she’s been encouraging me to write. When it came to actually going ahead with a book, she gave me great tips, and I was also able to pick up a lot of advice from other authors. I always think it’s strange with writers – we’re essentially competing against each other for sales, yet everyone is so friendly and willing to go out of their way to give advice.”
Soon Burkett will be the veteran writer that will be giving advice to young authors and they will be the ones benefiting from his vast experience. He has started his writing career strongly and the sky is truly the limit for Burkett. Some big names are already giving No Final Whistle some rave reviews.
“Every time I receive praise it’s amazing. Even though the book is out I’m still not sure it’s actually good. It’s the same with all my books. Whenever I read them back I only see mistakes. So to have praise is really valuable, and makes me think that actually I have produced something worthwhile. And to have received praise from people as well regarded as Adam Bate and Willian truly is incredible.”
More accolades are sure to follow. Just remember Seth Burkett’s name. We know that you will hear it again in the future.
For more information about Seth Burkett and his work, please visit www.sethburkett.com.
