Kicking his way to European Championships
Year 12 pupil, Reece, has been selected to join the England Deaf U21s European Deaf Football Championships, taking place in August in Baunata, Germany. 12 teams of all nationalities will compete against each other.
Reece, 17, started football when he was very young, joining the U7s team for Petts Wood and then moving on to play for Bromley C U10s-U16s, with many successes including winning The London Cup (U11s), and the Kent County Cup (U14s). He also attended the development centres of Crystal Palance, Tottenham Hotspur and Charlton Athletic, all of which have been mainstream teams.
Reece was selected for a local talent hub for deaf football and from the U14 team he was then selected to join the Regional Emerging Talent Programme, quickly progressing onto the National Emerging Talent Pathway.
In January 2020, Reece was selected to move up to the U21 squad, and will be one of its youngest players. Reece said 'I am so excited and cannot wait to go to Germany.'
Reece is very committed to the sport and to his training and plays at every opportunity. He trains at Mary Hare and is Captain of the school team. He also trains with Reading Deaf FC which the school helps with. Mary Hare School have a long tradition of putting out strong football teams and offer pupils as many opportunites as possible for competing against other mainstream schools.
Reece says that he would love to break into a non-league semi-professional team in Kent where he is from but his ultimate goal would be to represent England in the deaf team in the European Championships and World Cup.
Reece is following his dream and is determined to keep developing in the sport he loves so much.