From dealing with the rejection of a premier league club at 14 years old to playing in the Spanish league system and everything in between, my journey has been a rollercoaster ride with many highs and lows - but most importantly all have provided opportunities to learn and grow. This is why I am so passionate about helping young aspiring footballers navigate through the mind field that is modern-day football and sharing my experience on the harsh realities of the beautiful game. 

 

Growing up in northern England, there was only ever one profession that I was going to pursue. An avid supporter, student, and player of the game I started my career as many do at the grassroots level where I made a name for myself within my local town/area, resulting in the interest of a number of professional clubs. Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers, and Scunthorpe United were all clubs during my youth career that expressed interest in me and invited me to join for short spells and trials. For one reason or another, I was turned away and told that I was ´too small to make it as a professional footballer which I believe taught me how to deal with setbacks and rejection from a young age but this certainly would not deter me from my mission.

 

Since those early days, I was fortunate to go on to play football in 3 different countries, earn a senior promotion league system, signed with a full-time football club in Spain and made an incredible network of professionals within the industry - all thanks to this game that we love so much. But through all my years of working and playing within the world of football, Spain has left a special mark on me. The culture, the passion, the way that the game is played are all things that have resonated with me on a personal level and I know see Spain as a second home.

 

Making the transition into recruitment/player identification within the football industry I realized quickly that there was an abundance of players who shared similar stories and had been told that they were not good enough by professional clubs or never even received the opportunity to be assessed at those levels. Part of forming Spanish Soccer Trials was a desire to break the age-old saying of "It's about who you know, not what you know" and having now personally connected over 150 athletes from all over the world with high-level playing opportunities, I can say that we are firmly committed to that mission.

 

With each year that passes, comes a renewed focus on continuing to develop my network to provide more opportunities than ever before.