How long before we can expect cameras zooming in on you at Twickers in order to see the proud father celebrating the debut try?
Well: at the moment, it's certainly his ambition, and I'm all for it (although I'm being very careful not to be one of those parents who pressures their children into living their own dreams...) But, to put it in perspective, he went for the Oxfordshire trials: about 200 boys there, and the England squad guy who was running the trial was very clear about their chances: last year, 1 Oxfordshire under 16 player made it into the national squad...And that's just the start if you're serious about making a future in the game. Factor in changing enthusiasm levels, injury (one boy had his kneecap burst open at the trial - ambulance job), and the commitment required, and the likely earning career duration for a top class player, and after all that the competition from other young animals who love the game...
But, if you don't aim for your dreams, you'll never know. At the moment, he loves it, so I'm encouraging him to go as far as he can. Here's my favourite quote of all time with respect to trying your best and aiming high:
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Now that's an outlook on life