Callum Clark enjoyed a very successful time in local junior football with Goodwick United and at 17 years of age is having to come up against very experienced, and much physically bigger opposition in senior football.
 
Callum now plays for Goodwick United seconds in division two of the Manderwood Pembrokeshire Football League and readily admits that he is the smallest in the team and that is not easy after playing throughout the six years of junior football and being recognised as the club's top goal scorer.
 
With typical good humour he told us,
"An example of my bad luck in coming up against powerful defenders came when we played Hakin United Seconds and I found that I was being marked by Nathan Banner, who is well over six foot and was playing his first game back after rejoining them from playing Welsh League football with Haverfordwest County. He was a very big defender for me to take on!"
 

Encouraged all the way as a nipper

 
It all seems a long way from the time he started out at Phoenix Park with Darren 'Dapper' John as coach of the under 10 team, just turning up for training and getting a very warm welcome.
 
"'Dapper gave me every encouragement'," said Callum, "and I really enjoyed training from the very first evening alongside friends of mine like Adam Bowen (centre half), Adam Butler (goalkeeper), Sean Colella (central midfield) and Sean O'Sullivan (on the wing), whilst I played up front.
 
"We stuck together as a team right through from under 10s to under 16s and I did OK," Callum told us with typical understatement because what he forgets to mention is the fact that during every one of those seasons he won the award for being top goal scorer and in the under 14 team he actually grabbed 50+ goals to earn the silverware!
 

Goals galore in junior football

 
"I'm not the tallest," Callum continued, “but in one match against Clarbeston Road I managed a hat-trick of headers and finished up with nine goals as we thumped them 17-1."

Not content with that feat, Callum also claimed a double hat-trick on another occasion and scored more than his fair share of five and four-goal hauls, plus lots of other hat-tricks as he used his genuine pace and his natural nose for goals to good effect.

"I love chasing long balls over the top of the defence so that I can take on goalkeepers in a one-on-one situation - and sometimes it surprises defenders if they are a bit slow off the mark!"
 

Success and silverware followed

 
As a team, Callum and Co won the league for their age group in 2013 as they beat old rivals Haverfordwest Cricket  Club and there was further success against Prendergast Villa in the under 15s and 16s, as well as an under 15 cup final victory over Haverfordwest Cricket Club at Marble Hall.
 
"Jordan White scored both our goals as we were level at 2-2 after extra time and we won the cup in a penalty shoot-out.

"I had taken our penalties all season and sent their goalkeeper the wrong way to score our third goal before Adam Butler was our hero as he saved a penalty and then scored from the spot himself to give us a great win in front of a big and noisy crowd."
 

Disappointment of defeat

 
There was also a good run in the West Wales Cup where Goodwick United beat a team from Swansea by 3-2 in a home quarter final where Callum scored in the very first minute, his shot/cross from wide on the right was taken into the top corner by the wind, giving the opposing keeper no chance at all!
 
"We were desperate to reach the final so a 3-2 loss in the semi-final against Llangyfelach at Johnstown, near Carmarthen, was particularly gutting on a pitch that was very heavy after lots of rain.
 
"They snatched the winning goal after hitting the bar and the ball stuck in the mud - we didn't clear it and they had a simple tap in to pinch the verdict after we had done well for most of the game."
 

Testing senior start but great help from Goodwick coaches

 
From those successes (and the odd disappointment) it was in to senior football and Callum is honest to admit that he hasn't found it an easy transition because of the physicality of the game in the second division of the Pembrokeshire League.

"I scored a couple of goals in pre-season friendlies but am searching to find the net at the moment but ‘Dapper’ has kept faith in me and I am training hard."
 
Callum also picked out club coach Nigel Delaney and Chris O'Sullivan, now co-manager at Haverfordwest County, as others who have provided good tips in his development, singling out the latter for the way that he has always been positive and an inspiration in training because he was so fit himself.
 

Respect given by Sully and Bernie

 
It seems the respect is mutual because Sully told us,
"Callum is an excellent trainer because he rarely misses a session, gives it 100% and listens to every word of advice he's given. He has hit a bit of a quiet patch at present but he is what it takes and will serve Goodwick United well for many years."
 
This is a view endorsed by Bernie Armstrong, a former club manager and junior coach, who said,
"From the first time I saw Callum Clark in action I was impressed because he is going to a be a quality player as he gains in height and strength because he has a good football brain, far in excess of his age, reads play well and has all the basic skills.
 
"He is also a good club man because whenever I referee the club's under 14 team on a Saturday morning he always volunteers to run the line, which few teenagers would do on a regular basis."
 
High praise indeed from two knowledgeable football people who can see Callum's potential!
 

And finally . . .

 
Ask Callum for his ambitions and the answer is immediate - that he wants to play first-team football for Goodwick United.

"As well as Nigel Delaney and Dapper John I have also been helped by Darren Devonald, Ben Leahy and Rowan Nicholson, whilst club chairman Brian Morris is always on hand to give advice."
 
It is clear that Callum Clark is a Phoenix Park player through and through and we wish this modest, unassuming but skillful young player future success because he sums up what is best in local football and knowledgeable football folk have already spotted his possibilities for serving Goodwick United so well for a long time to come!