Wanting to be the next Ronaldo

11 year-old Biloela soccer player doing all he can to chase a professional career

BEST AFIELD: Biloela’s Owen Henney will continue to chase a proffessional career with Queensland Football’s Skill Acquisition Program.

PLAYING kids three years older than him on a regular basis is just one way to see Owen Henney of Biloela is an exceptional soccer talent.

The 11-year-old right footer has returned from the Clinton Football Club’s summer six-a-side competition in Gladstone where he received man of the match in the grand final.

His father, Malcolm, said his son has been a part of the Football Queensland Skill Acquisition Program (SAP) Gladstone program in the last three years.

“Five times a year Owen plays-off against other SAP programs across the state including Brisbane,” Henney said.

“We’ve had a Broncos talent scout watching Owen at the summer competition in Gladstone and saying he has incredible footwork.

“He’s quite a talented player and he’s very good with his ball control.

“He thinks he will be the next Ronaldo.”

SAP is designed to perfect and accelerate the skill development of identified players between the critical ages of 9 to 13.

Henney attended two trials in November this year and gained selection into the SAP program for 2020.

“They played a few games and ran skills to test their ball skills,” Henney said.

“It’s not just about ball skills it’s being a team player and how you are as a kid.

“It’s about more than just pure talent.”

Henney said his son plays U14 soccer in Biloela but needs to compete at a higher level on a more consistent basis.

“He’s not getting challenged in Biloela and he’s probably the best player on the field still playing up three years out of his age group,” Henney said.

“As sad as it’ll be, we’ll have to move somewhere else to help accommodate his schedule and access higher level competitions.”

Henney said that he will travel with his son once a week from February 2020 to Gladstone to train with the SAP program.

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