A ST Patrick\u2019s College student is to England next year for a soccer-playing opportunity of a lifetime.<\/p>\n
Year 9 student Paddy Klain has been invited to take part in the West Ham United UK development tour in April, where he will train as part of a 40-player contingent.<\/p>\n
The tour is scheduled to run for 11 days, and Klain said he\u2019s excited to make the overseas journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty exciting, and I\u2019m happy I\u2019ve got that chance to go. I was pretty shocked I got in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opportunities I\u2019ll have will depend on who\u2019s coming to watch the games we\u2019re playing. The quality of players will be a lot better which is something I\u2019m really looking forward to.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting to go to some Premier League games. I reckon that\u2019ll be fun to watch them live.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really wanting to improve my confidence going into tackles. I\u2019ve been doing training exercises at home to prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klain took part in two West Ham soccer programs earlier this year. First was a two-day camp run in Ballarat hosted by the George Cowie Football Club.<\/p>\n
Then Klain was one of 250 players that participated in a national four-day camp at Queensland\u2019s Southport School in September, which led to being invited to the international tour.<\/p>\n
The programs featured specialised fitness and training programs with coaches from the Australian Institute of Sport.<\/p>\n
Klain\u2019s trip to England includes six days in London and five in Manchester, as well as stadium tour and a soccer match between West Ham and Arsenal.<\/p>\n
Having started playing when he was about two years old, Klain moved to futsal at St Patrick\u2019s during grade prep before progressing to under 7s outdoor games.<\/p>\n
Klain has been playing with Ballarat City Football Club since last year.<\/p>\n
Paddy\u2019s mother Cassandra said between his involvement in local, interstate and now international soccer programs, she couldn\u2019t be happier for her son.<\/p>\n
\u201c[His father] Sean and I were just really proud of the effort he\u2019s put in and him putting himself out there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, they see something in him and think he deserves this opportunity which is just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A ST Patrick\u2019s College student is to England next year for a soccer-playing opportunity of a lifetime. Year 9 student Paddy Klain has been invited to take part in the West Ham United UK development tour in April, where he will train as part of a 40-player contingent. The tour is scheduled to run for […]<\/p>\n