Hi all. We're new to the community and would like to introduce ourselves. I'm Dave (dad) and my son is Mason who is an u13s goalkeeper. It will be mainly me thats commenting and posting so just be aware to anyone, you'll be talking to an adult. Mason started playing football at u8s and was quickly picked up by sheffield wednesday pre academy. He was there for u9s + u10s but was released. He also was unsuccessful in a trial for Rotherham. Obviously gutted, I assured Mason that this was not the end of his journey and with some hard work he could get picked up again. Due to the Rotherham trial ending in November, finding a new team was difficult because all high level teams had already established keepers so we decided to drop down a couple of leagues and Mason would spend the rest of the season playing centre back. This would give him a better understanding of defence and would be great for his feet. Mason made a big impact in this team and grew confidently into the position. Meanwhile he was playing Saturdays for a JPL team in goal. Mason finished the season strong, 2nd in the league for his Sunday team and player of the season for his Saturday team. He moved on for the next season signing for Chesterfield fc in JPL, northern rep team for JPL and Sheffield Rangers in Sheffield A division. U12s. Things went great winning silverware for all 3 teams. Which leads me up to now and why I waited for my first post. This season, Mason again started strong playing for the same teams and also playing up for Chestfield u14. He retained his place for the northern rep team after trials and just last week played against Hull City academy. He played fantastic, receiving plaudits from opposition players, coaches and even the ref. We got home and not long after, I received a txt saying that Hull are interested in Mason and would like to offer him a full trial with the academy. Mason starts in the new year. Hard work paid off.