Harrison Goddard loves being involved in a whole range of sports and at 11 years of age has enjoyed rugby, swimming, cross country and football, which is his favourite sport and has seen him represent the county and help them to the final last season of the Tom Yeoman's Cup for county associations around Wales.

He currently plays in midfield for Merlins Bridge under the guidance of Kevin Thomas and previously in the county under 10s team coached by Brian Kelly after attending trials at the Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium and making it into the squad.

That led him nicely into the under 12s county squad that is coached by Angie Nicholls, who has the job of picking 'A' and 'B' teams of equal strength as they take on opponents from all over Wales.

Heavily involved with the Bridge and county

Harrison has played in Aberystwyth and at the end of the recent campaign played in the 'A' team as they did so well to reach the final of the Tom Yeoman's Shield, battling through to the final before just missing out against Swansea at the new sports complex at Ystrad Mynach in the Rhondda Valley.

"Harrison has been a credit to the county team because he never misses training and is always ready to listen to good advice," said Angie Nicholls, "and he played really well throughout the competition."

At Merlins Bridge he has enjoyed the company of Henry Thomas (centre back) and Josh Silk (playing on the right), who both play in the county set up with him alongside Lewis Miller (Hook), who plays wide on the left.
"All the team are good friends," Harrison told us, "and I really enjoy going to training sessions with them because we work hard but have good fun as well."

Following in family footsteps

That Harrison should love football should come as no surprise because he hails from a family involved in the game as dad Matt was a long-serving player with Camrose and his late great uncle, Derek Roberts, was ever-ready to give advice in the family garden.

Granddad Stephen Goddard played rugby for Haverfordwest and the county whilst his other grandfather, Stephen Griffiths, played rugby for Brawdy and represented the RAF at Twickenham, whilst grandmothers Maureen Goddard and Sarah Davies are always eager to follow his progress. 

Harrison has a younger sister Evie (9) who swims for Haverfordwest Seals and is in the Swimming Skills squad and perhaps the most important member of the family, mum Leanne, is the best unofficial taxi driver ever and ferries him wherever he needs to go for his other considerable sporting interests!

Other sports

These include swimming, where he trains four times a week in the evenings with Haverfordwest Seals and is a capable all-round swimmer whose specialities are breast stroke and butterfly, completing a total of five hours which has really helped with his fitness for his football.

Then there is rugby at St Davids RFC after coach Adrian Davies asked Leanne to bring him along. Harrison started out with tag rugby and now plays full back in full contact matches - but is unable to train regularly because it takes place on Thursday evenings and conflicts with the time he is already busy at football and swimming.

Not content with that little lot, Harrison ran in the county cross country for Roch CP and came third in Oakwood before representing Dyfed in Carmarthen and dong well against the likes of Swansea.

In the summer months, when he takes a deserved rest from football, Harrison also plays golf at Haverfordwest with grandfather Stephen Goddard and dad Matt, and he still keeps very busy with his training sessions for swimming. One day he might even consider cricket after captaining the Roch School team in local school matches!

He is also the captain of Ramsey House at Roch and enjoys encouraging younger pupils to take part in sport, which is a nice characteristic.

Did well at Camrose and now looking good with Kevin

Back on the football front, Harrison started out at Camrose, where he was coached by Laurie Haworth, who has played for Wales and was a real help in his development - and in that time Harrison was twice the winner of the 'Player of the Year' award and received them from Laurie, looking resplendent in his Welsh cap. 

When Laurie went off to college, Harrison moved to Merlins Bridge Juniors, where he is coached by Kevin Thomas, and has really improved in a strong Bridge team which has done well.
"We were pleased when Harrison decided to join us," admitted Kevin, "and he has played consistently well all season. He is a good trainer and a good midfielder who can also play a little further back, if needed. We are already looking forward to his involvement next season, where we are sure he will continue to feature well for us and the county set-up."

Special day out with Cardiff City

Ask Harrison about his favourite team and he would be very quick to nominate Cardiff City and has been to cheer them on at the Cardiff City Stadium on a number of occasions.
"Last season I was chosen as the mascot for the game against Birmingham City and it was magic," he told us, “because they won the match and I walked out on to the pitch with Kenwyn Jones, their striker.

"My favourite player there is David Marshall, their goalkeeper, and my favourite player of all is Aaron Ramsey, the Welsh midfielder who plays for Arsenal."

Angie’s full of praise

Harrison has really enjoyed being involved with the county team in the Tom Yeoman Shield and says that some of the games were really tough but he enjoyed playing alongside other good players under the watchful eye of Angie Nicholls, who told us,

"Harrison has been an excellent player from the outset because of his willingness to work hard, take advice and apply himself on the field. He is a credit to his family, who are ultra-supportive, his club and county and is going to be a very good player if he can maintain his current rate of progress."

We are very happy to leave the final word to Angie but can only add that it was a pleasure to chat to such a modest and likeable young feller and we wish him every success in his footballing future!