KEMPSEY youngster Isaac Parkinson is already on the road to success as a footballer of significant stature, and he’s driven – literally – to go as far as he can in the sport.
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Unlike most of his soccer-mad mates, the 13-year-old has racked up hundreds of kilometres this season as a member of an elite junior side, representing Mid North Coast in the Youth National Premier League. That is a competition featuring heavyweight outfits such as Hamilton, Broadwater and the Emerging Jets – in fact, Mid North Coast is the only non-Newcastle side.
That means lots of travel for Isaac – twice weekly to Port Macquarie for training and regular weekend sojourns to Newcastle on game day.
But the Year 8 St Paul’s College student wouldn’t have it any other way – pitting himself against the best is the only way ahead for the goalkeeper who wants “to go as far as I can”.
At the weekend, Mid North Coast – who finished third on the table – squared off against Hamilton in a semi-final at Newcastle, where they bowed out 2-1.
Onfield, Isaac is well accustomed to calling the shots from the goal square, marshalling the defence.
“He’s been known to lose his voice by the end of a game,” Isaac’s mum Belinda laughed.
Long road trips aren’t the only challenge for participants in the Premier League, who must also forgo turning out for their home club, in Isaac’s case, Kempsey Saints.
But Isaac told the Argus the dividend of playing at an elite level was worth the sacrifice – and that Mid North Coast had already chalked a successful season for a mob from the country.
“We had a few downs in the middle of the season but we’ve been going really good of late,” he said.
While many youngsters shy from the responsibility of being the team custodian, Isaac thrills to the role: “I just love the action of diving and making good saves”.
Though this is Isaac’s first year in the Youth Premier League, he has an eye on one day matching his hero goalkeepers – Australia’s Matt Ryan, Manchester United’s David de Gea and Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois.
The road to Wembley might seem a near impossibly long one, but Isaac is on his way.