Being born and brought up in Southport, Lancashire, England, was not the unluckiest of fates.  Southport is 20 miles from Liverpool and 40 miles from Manchester – not the worst location if you had a modicum of interest in soccer – and we had fields, pine woods and miles of beach.  Soccer became more important as the early years progressed, but it was still only one part of a collage of great experiences from cricket, to golf, to swimming at the beach, to school – Yuck! – well, there have to be some not-so-great experiences.  You know.  Part of growing up.

In the Boot Room in the next few weeks, I am going to write about those early learning years - how they relate to my coaching philosophy and how they have impacted on the Byte Size Coaching program.

Here is the “soccer journey” in my “amateur days” from age-8 upwards.

Age 0 - 9	Blundell's Fields, Batty's Farm, the roads and the sidewalks of the village of Ainsdale, the schoolyard - in fact anywhere there was a bit of space, a tennis ball, a rebound surface, or a friend or two, or more, we - I - could play some form of soccer.  You only needed a little imagination.
Age 9 & 10	Farnborough Road Elementary School, Southport and District Schools Champions (position: center half)
Age 14	Southport Schoolboys Team (position - goalkeeper).
Age 15	Automatic Telephones, Liverpool and District Men’s Works League (hung out to dry as a goalkeeper and  lived to tell the tale).
Age 16	Southport Leyland Road U18’s, Southport and District Youth League (goalkeeper from here on in).
Age 17 - 19	Southport Leyland Road Men’s team, Lancashire Amateur League (no longer hung out to dry; I could  hold my own)
Age 20	Amateur Player at Middlesbrough FC
Age 21 - 22	Loughborough College (English University Champions)
Age 22	Macclesfield Town (Cheshire League), English Universities and England Amateur Team

Prior to turning pro at Blackpool, I had tryouts with Middlesbrough (amateur playing status), Sheffield United, Blackburn Rovers, Nottingham Forest and Peterborough United.  Either these clubs did not recognize talent … or they knew a thing or two!  The joke was among my friends that I had more "trials" (tryouts in North American parlance) than Crippen.  Crippen was a mass-murderer who was tried x times before he was eventually found guilty and hung.  Well I eventually "hung around" the Blackpool goal for 8 years!