Trying to kickstart a possible football career ...

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iNickStuff

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Hey guys,

This thread, once again, is just for opinions. Just. If moderators feel the need to close, then by all means. But however, I am just trying to see what views you guys may have. Please post them appropriately and refrain from making one-worded, pointless or non-constructive comments, regarding criticism.

Thank-you.

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Right.

I am a West London boy, 15 years of age and in Year 11 - the last year of my academic 'career'. I have my GCSE's coming up soon and, with that, I also have the ambitions of, one day, potentially, becoming a footballer. A professional footballer - either with Queens Park Rangers or Manchester United.

Problems are:

  • I can't really find a club within my area.
  • I don't know what kind of player I am (eg. Winger, defender, fullback, midfielder etc. etc.)
  • I left my previous club due to not being able to fit in with the fellow members, eventually forcing me to no longer try to get into their first-team.
  • I am not fully match fit (currently) and with no money to fund a possible membership at a gym near my school and my parents pushing me on for school more makes it all the more harder.
  • I need a coach/someone to give me feedback on how good I am and what I should do to improve.
With the problems listed, I think that the first and fourth are fixable, but however, the others are a problem.

The positions one concerns me the most. I am tall, but not a great person to header the ball. With that said, everyone, or rather the majority of people around me think that I play best as a central defender - something I completely deny.

I can't really tackle that well, nor header - two of which are essential for a good centre back and my best ability would probably be my passing. I would like to call myself a central midfielder but have found myself playing on either side of the wing, slowly drifting inside.

I can hit a good long pass, take a good, powerful free-kick and ultimately score from long-range - if lucky.

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This isn't an advertisement, but what I would like to get out of this is opinions on:

  1. What position I should play.
  2. What kind of player should I mould myself into (eg. Industrious midfielder, box-to-box, overlapping fullback etc. etc.)
  3. If I should press on with football.
  4. How I should juggle this with school work.
  5. Is it all worth doing?
Again, moderators, feel free to close if pointless, I am just hoping for a few floating opinions on a subject I am trying to quash with a firm opinion.

Thank you,

iNickStuff
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Judging by your attributes, you are most likely to be a creative central midfielder. I'd say school work comes first but maybe ask a few mates to organise a game with you every week and ask around to see if anyone plays for a club. Trust me, you won't get anywhere without asking people.

Play casually with some mates. Try playing in each position every time and see where you are most comfortable. As for your parents, if you get into a Sunday League side, fitting it in with school work should be no problem.

Good luck!
 
iNickStuff said:
This isn't an advertisement, but what I would like to get out of this is opinions on:

  1. What position I should play.
  2. What kind of player should I mould myself into (eg. Industrious midfielder, box-to-box, overlapping fullback etc. etc.)
  3. If I should press on with football.
  4. How I should juggle this with school work.
  5. Is it all worth doing?
Click to expand...

If you ask me, all 5 of these questions are things you should either know yourself, or decide for yourself - not ask strangers on a forum who have never seen you play before/have nothing to do with your life.
 
There's no harm in trying out different positions down the park with your mates. But by the sounds of it, I'd either say a CM or a AM..
 
Redders said:
If you ask me, all 5 of these questions are things you should either know yourself, or decide for yourself - not ask strangers on a forum who have never seen you play before/have nothing to do with your life.
Click to expand...

True, but it's worth a shot in seeing what other people think.

I'll try to answer the questions myself, but on the rest of it, I just want a few opinions.
 
Personally I think you shouldn't do it because your 15 you dont even know what position you play!! You dont even play for a local team!! Plus I think you should concentrate on school work but thats just my opinion.
 
At your school, i have scouts that come from crystal palace to my football p.e. lessons to scout us, and there is saturday football and there r palace scouts, try and get into a team or do saturday football, to me you sound like an attacking midfielder as you cant really tackle and i consider that vital in todays world, like take me i cant tackle and im not good at choosing whether to pass, cross or shot, but i have good reflexes so i play in goal, and i save most penaltys. i let in about 1 goal every three games!
 
if you think you're good at football or youve got anything talented or creative within yourself, then i say **** school and do what you want to do, as for your parents they dont know whats good for you and whats best for you ultimately only you know that so if you think you should pursue football and you think your good enough then just play as much as you can and look for a position your comfortable in, you'll know when you play in it.
 
You sound like a Pirlo/Schweinsteiger-esque holding player, which would be very useful considering the game's current fatuation with them. Neither are that great at tackling, but they're extremely accomplished passers.
 
First and foremost get fit, no club will go for a player who already looks unfit and is only 15, you don't need a gym membership, just jog a lot and do general excersizes and maybe most importantly make sure you're eating right!
 
You can ring up clubs, and they will give you trials, where you go along for some training, and they will then tell you if they want you to come back..
 
TBH, Im 13 and I have the pretty much the same attributes as you, and I've been put at centre-back which is a position I really hate. I have been put upfront in my last match though, but I have never tried centre midfield which is a position I think I might be good at, but I dont know, as my manager is annoying and doesn't like changes, which is VERY annoying :S
 
This is kinda what I went in with when I wanted to go to college to study music, I wanted to do it, but my mother saying it not my thing, in life you can choose what you want to do, I've still haven't studied music at a college but I will try and do it on my own, just don't give up what you want to do. If you want to find your best position play at the park or find a Sunday League team as find a position that suits. If I was to become a football player I would only be a Goalkeeper as it a position that I got used to when playing football in school. Just don't give up your dreams of becoming a football player.
 
NiallZemin said:
First and foremost get fit, no club will go for a player who already looks unfit and is only 15, you don't need a gym membership, just jog a lot and do general excersizes and maybe most importantly make sure you're eating right!
Click to expand...

Very much understandable Niall.

I've been looking into that for a bit.

.. except I will be 16 in December.

BoDeLL-DcFc said:
You can ring up clubs, and they will give you trials, where you go along for some training, and they will then tell you if they want you to come back..
Click to expand...

I will, when I get fit.
 
it says people have posted but not showing?
 
hmm, personally go to the gym and do some fitness. That is necessary if you want to become a footballer :)
 
If you don't mind paying, I've heard a lot that FootballCV Academy is really good for up and coming prospects, those that haven't yet been noticed.
 
iNickStuff said:
I am not fully match fit (currently) and with no money to fund a possible membership at a gym near my school and my parents pushing me on for school more makes it all the more harder.
Click to expand...

Forget a gym, go running, its free, do pressups and situps, they are free.

Firstly, less than 0.01% of players who try to go pro actually make it. Consider that before chasing your dreams. You have to be determined, and willing to work twice as hard as anyone else around you.

Also, 15 years old is sadly quite late to be looking to carve out a professional career nowadays. There are modern day examples of players entering the pro game as late as their early twenties, but these are few and far between.

I would say contact as many pro/semi pro clubs as possible to enquire about a trial. Most hold regualr trial days that are open to all, you get some coahcing and then usually play a game with a number of the clubs staff/scouts observing, obviosuly they offer a longer term trial/contract to any talent they spot.

As a young goalkeeper, I played for my local team until 15 years old when i went for a trial at Boston United. I was taken on a YTS and thoroughly enjoyed being paid a small amount of money to play the game i love. Unfortunately my school work went downhill dramatically due to 4 weekly trainignsessions and at least one game a week, i was forced to leave shortly before my A-Levels.

This proved to be a good move as i learned that the club were considering my future anyway due to a long term foot injury. The clubs youth system later folded after their relegation from the football league.

I went on to play for 4 seasons at a decent semi pro level (Tier 9 if we are talking in FM editor language) getting paid about £30 quid a game which was cool. I left after a fallout with new management and my demotion from vice captain and starting GK to the bench :'(

Now i play centre midfield for a mates saturday league side in the local area to keep me entertained.

So by all means go for it, but consider the follwoing:

Even if you make it past all the doubters and the people telling you that you wont make it. You still have to deal with the other kids chasing the same contract as you.

Then theres the uncertainty of life as a young pro, will i get another contract? Will the club stick by me if i get injured? Will the club close their youth program to save money? etc etc

Choose a position to play ASAP. Clubs like versatility, but if you turn up and say you dont know where you play, they will stick you on the becnh for the trial, guaranteed. Ask yourself where you feel most comfortable on the pitch and stick to it.

Always have a back up plan, ie dont go gung ho assuming you will become a pro footballer and neglect your schooling. I've seen plenty of guys with more talent than me fall by the wayside fromt he pro game and then fall apart becasue they have nothing to fall back on in terms of schooling.

Always ask a coach/scout at the end of the trial how they think you did, and if they have any tips on how you can improve. This forces them to remember you, and you will be fresh in their mind when they hold the meeting with other scouts after the trial.

Finally, enjoy it.
 
Gym's over-rated, just go out with friends, have a kick about, go for jogs before school, get a shower, go to school. Make sure you revise though.
 
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