adminRobson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
A TEENAGE Zimbabwean footballer, who dreams of one day becoming a big star, spent two weeks at a football school in Manchester this month as part of an ambitious programme to hone the skills he believes will take him to the top of the game.Ray Kazembe, the 16-year-old St John’s Schoolboy, has already spent time playing for the Dynamos junior teams and his ambitious father, who believes he could become a top player, enrolled him at the Edukick England football school in Manchester for an intensive two-week training programme.
The teenage footballer is the son of former Dynamos secretary-general, Ray Kazembe, who is also the Member of the House of Assembly for Mazowe West.
During his two-week stay in Manchester, Ray joined ambitious footballers from Spain, Ghana, the United States, Italy, Kenya, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Nigeria, Morocco, Burkina Faso and some from the United Kingdom.
“It’s been great,” Ray says in a video posted by the football school on You-Tube. I met players from all over the world and I think the coaches are world-class coaches.
“It’s been a great experience to know that I can come here, from Zimbabwe, and still know that I am a good player when compared to some other players from around the world.
“I’m very confident in my skills and definitely, maybe, next year, I will come back.”
The Edukick England football school said Ray described himself as a 16-year-old winger whose best attributes are skill, awareness, vision, passing, crossing, agility and ball control.
He lists Tonderayi Ndiraya as the coach who has helped him in his young career and says his spell at Dynamos helped to toughen him mentally and physically.
“I gained a lot of confidence and team skills,” says Ray. “I also learned to become stronger as an individual as I was an outsider because I came from a privileged background.
“Currently, I only play for my school, St John’s College. I play for the First Team Soccer squad as a winger, and sometimes as an attacking midfielder.
“They are in the National Chisz Schools Under-20 League, which is the premier school football league in Zimbabwe. This year, it being the school’s first ever year in the league, we finished 3rd. I want to work my way to the highest level and become a professional football player.”
His father, Kazembe, said he was confident his boy could become a star in the game in the future.
“He wants to be a professional football player and the reports that I have been receiving from the coaches at school and those at Dynamos are encouraging and that inspires me to keep helping him realise his dreams,” said Kazembe.
“That’s the least we can do as parents and I felt he could learn some new things in Manchester if he spent two weeks at a school that specialises in coaching players of his age and the feedback, too, has been positive.
“It’s not easy to be a top football star, there are a lot of hurdles that one has to overcome, but he shows the determination, which is very key, and we will take it one step at a time and see where it takes him and us.”
Edukick England football school says its programmes are “a complete package of international travel, English cultural exposure, English language study and immersion, and professional soccer training.”
“Edukick England coaching is delivered at our top class football academy facilities in Manchester. Our aim at Edukick England is to ensure that participating players have ‘the English language and culture soccer experience of a lifetime’.
“From an academic point of view, we believe all players must underpin their football training and knowledge with credible and suitable academic qualifications to ensure they can have a choice of progression routes at the end of the programme and in their future career paths.
“On our football programme in Manchester we have a variety of academic paths to fit all players.”
Some of the success stories that have come from the programme include Eric Behran, who signed for English Championship club Derby County.
“During September 2012, his first month on the programme here in Manchester, Eric impressed the goalkeeper coaches of Manchester City that much that they invited him in to train with the clubs academy goalkeepers on a regular basis,” Edukick England said.
“In this time Eric received some top class coaching from the city goalkeeper coaches alongside training daily with the Edukick England team and being our No 1 in matches.
“Over the course of the programme, Eric earned himself several opportunities going on trial with Aston Villa, before visiting Derby County FC. Derby straight away took to Eric with head of recruitment Craig Short saying he had come into the team and performed brilliantly.
“Eric spends several weeks travelling to Derby to join the team at weekends for matches, which in itself is a great experience for a 16-year old young player. After a few weeks of discussions Eric has finally been offered a scholarship at the club and has put pen to paper.”
Quinn Bregin, one of the youngest players on the programme for the 2012 – 2013 season, secured a trial at Preston North End. Preston, the English League One side.
Online Reporter