The TRUTH about being an 'overnight' success in football

It's easy to assume that those who make it through academies have done so without a hitch; by just always being the best kids around.

On July 29, 2012, I walked out to a crowd of 85,000 at Wembley, in the starting line-up for Team GB at the Olympics. To date, it’s the pinnacle of my career.

You could be forgiven for thinking that I’d just strolled to this incredible opportunity; been better than everyone else when I was young, and risen through the academy ranks at Watford accordingly.

In truth, my journey up to that point had been far from easy.

Park Life

Like a lot of young kids in this country, my journey to living the dream of becoming a professional started in my local park, playing for a Sunday team. As a six-year-old goalkeeper for Belmont United’s B team, playing in the Premier League one day was just a far-fetched pipe dream.

Along my journey, I didn’t hear ‘he’s definitely going to make it’, or ‘he’ll play in the Premier League’. I was told that I wasn’t good, I won’t make it, and when I finally got an opportunity, that I didn’t deserve it as there were better players.

Through the years, I saw many team-mates get scouted by professional clubs and then sign for academies. In that time, I tried and failed to make progress. Most worrying was that the older I got, fewer players were being picked up. I was turning 13 and still hadn’t been good enough to catch the attention of any clubs.

But just as the chances were seemingly slipping away, I was eventually noticed by a passing scout in the last game of a summer tournament. Luck, timing, or fate? Either way, I was over the moon – I’d been offered my first six-week trial with Chelsea.

Touching Distance

My first day as an under-13 hopeful was filled with nerves, anxiety and excitement. My mum and I arrived at Battersea Park station and dashed from platform to the floodlit astroturf pitch, to make up as much time as possible. Being late on your first day is normally disastrous, but fortunately I made up for it with a flurry of goals.

I can still remember putting Chelsea’s shirt on for the first time in wonder. I was in awe of the badge, the club, and couldn’t believe that I was there. Funnily enough, that first game was away to my future club Watford, where a goal and a win put me into contention for a contract.

A few more games and a couple of goals later, I was at the end of the trial. I was sat down after a training session and, for what wouldn’t be the last time, told I wasn’t quite good enough.

Back to the drawing board. But think about it: clubs were snapping up players from as young as six years old. For the 13-year-old me, that could have been it. My dream was fading.

A year or so later, the scout who’d originally taken me to Chelsea on trial presented me with an opportunity of going to Fulham. And after five goals in my first three games, I’d finally done it. I was signed to a pro club. As it turned out, what I’d found so difficult in my earlier years actually turned out to be the easiest part of the journey.

But the next two years, which I’d say are the most defining for any player at a pro club, were tough. Trying to find the right balance between dedicating time to GCSE schoolwork and earning a scholarship is a difficult task.... Read the full article here