Local lads to join West Ham camp

Three Albany teenagers will attend a West Ham Untied national camp on the Gold Coast after being identified at a player ID camp in Perth recently.

West Ham United, a large professional soccer club in England, run player ID camps in Australia and New Zealand for their Oceania academy.

Four budding Albany soccer players made the trip to Perth last month and three of those participating at the sessions will now head to the national camp on September 21-24, where they will be under West Ham United assistant academy director Paul Heffer.

Kyle Taylor, 16, plays juniors for Stirling Rangers and premier league with Polonia and is joined by Parker Wingard, 16, who is a Great Southern Grammar junior and also a senior with Polonia.

Callum Jones, 15, from Polonia, is the third local player picked for the national camp.

A group of players are selected after the national camp to spend a week with West Ham in London.

West Ham United’s Darran Quinn has helped get the Albany players up to Perth and said he was hoping to set up a pathway in the region for aspiring young talent to chase their dream.

“I use to coach and scout at pro clubs in London, have a number of contacts and know ex-West Ham players,” Quinn said.

“George Cowie has asked me to have a look at the talent down here and it’s fantastic to have three Albany lads get picked.

“They will get smashed at the camp but that’s what it’s about if you want to get to the next level.

“For us, it’s about creating that pathway and trying to give these kids a hope of getting to the top.”

Quinn said he was hopeful of having an Oceania academy player ID camp come to Albany in 2020 aimed at players in the Great Southern area, both girls and boys, from ages 7-17.

Anyone interested in the camp can contact Quinn at westhamdal@hotmail.co.uk.