KIAMA Junior Football Club's Cooper Schofield is a young man with the world at his feet - literally - after his selection in the final trials run by the West Ham Football Academy in September.
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The nine-year-old, who plays centre-midfield for Kiama Komets under-10s, is one of about 20 players selected from two days of exhaustive trials in the recent school holidays. He said he can't wait for the opportunity to take part in the final trials.
"I love playing soccer and the chance to learn from the coaches from West Ham was great," Schofield said.
His progression came after his parents enrolled him in the Illawarra Football Academy school holiday program in December 2013 which led to him being awarded a scholarship with the academy.
"My coach at the academy, Mark Tyssen, is a really good coach - and is very patient," the youngster added.
Schofield has played for Kiama since he was five and is now in his sixth season.
His big break came when the Illawarra Football Academy formed a partnership with West Ham Football Academy and arranged holiday camps.
"There were around 200 kids there and from that I think about 20 were invited for the Australia-wide trials at Southport in September.
"From that, they could select a couple of players to travel to their academy in London later in the year."
Illawarra Football Academy coach Mark Tyssen was full of praise for the youngster.
"Young Cooper is a good example and is a player I would describe as coachable," Tyssen said.
"Coachable players have enthusiasm and passion, have a positive attitude, pay attention, want to learn, and are willing to work hard and practice.
"Cooper has all these attributes and has some nice skills and technique to go with it.
"From day one I identified Cooper with many great qualities and a great passion for soccer, and this, along with his sound basic skills was the platform for progression.
"Cooper has the potential to be an awesome young player.
"He needs to continue to grow and learn, and be provided with opportunities.
"One of these was the recent West Ham United Oceania Academy Regional Camp where 70 local talented juniors had an opportunity to showcase their skills.
"West Ham coaches were very impressed with Cooper's positive attitude and always paying attention and worked hard over the two-day camp.
"The camp on the Gold Coast is a great opportunity for Cooper and also other local soccer players who will showcase their talent with hundreds of other kids from around Australia and New Zealand."