AS a member of Southend United's youth squad, Rickmansworth School pupil David Nelmes explains why the next month is crucial in the life of a hopeful pro footballer.

In about a month, the time will come for hundreds of boys to either realise their dream, or have them dashed by professional football clubs.

It is around Christmas and New Year when clubs from Arsenal to Southend United, including Watford, make life-changing decisions on 15 to 16-year-old schoolboys.

Hopefully, my name will be included, as the time has come for squads of around 20, and sometimes more, to be whittled down to anything as low as one or two.

A huge amount of luck is involved being injured, the club that you play for and their needs in their youth team, your position, or even your height could have more of a factor on the club's decision than your talent.

This is true in my case. When I was at Barnet from the ages of 11 to 13, my contract was ended when the club's centre of excellence was closed down. This was due to a lack of funds when Barnet were relegated from the Football League. It was very hard to take being released from a club, especially when it was not to do with a lack of talent.

I have been playing for Southend United for nearly a year-and-a-half, and I am currently going through the most important stage of my life. I have seen players come and go in the centre of excellence world and I know how tough it is.

In my team, some boys have already been told of their immediate future and, soon enough, it will be my time to be told where I will be after I finish school.

Fortunately, my club Southend, who lack funds to buy players and the facilities to attract them, and our local team, Watford, who have a very prosperous youth system which has seen stars such as Tommy Smith and Anthony McNamee join the first team, rely on youth team players more than others. But it still doesn't make our jobs any easier.

There will be a very small amount of boys who succeed and become full-time footballers, but unfortunately the majority of signed boys will not be offered scholarships. All the boys know what is coming and the decision, for some, is far more important than their exam results in the summer.

The level of football at what will then be Under-19 is a long way off the mark that we are achieving at the moment. The Under-17 League which I and all of the Year 11 schoolboys compete in at the moment is very tough, but it gets harder. The Under-17 and Under-19 Leagues have been set up by the FA as a way of having competitive football for signed schoolboys.

I have also been very lucky to have been able to experience the FA Youth Cup atmosphere in our first-round tie last month. The FA Youth Cup is an Under-18 tournament and, as I found out, the level will be nearly impossible for many of us to reach.

It was a brilliant experience for me and may well be the highest level of football I reach in my whole career. The match was played at Bournemouth's new ground at Dean Court, but we were knocked out of the competition after extra-time.

It will be exceptionally hard on the boys who do not make it. We are currently studying for our GCSE's and many of us, including myself, will take our mock exams just weeks after the decision has been made.

For some, football is their only option. Some boys have been playing since they were infants and have been signed to clubs since they were eight, and now their journey may have ended. I started playing for Chiltern United when I was seven and joined Barnet when I was 11.

Of course, there will be a few boys who still believe or have the time and talent to battle on at other clubs or non-league outfits but the news would have dealt a serious blow to their young careers. It may also be true that they would have not worked hard enough on their school work during their time in football, and that will soon catch up with them.

But surely it is unfair to wrongly judge players because in order to make it as a professional, dedication of the highest degree is needed and school work levels are likely to drop if they are to give themselves a fair chance of making it.

I travel down to Southend twice a week for training and then anywhere as far as Peterborough or Portsmouth for matches on Saturdays. It is very hard for me to do any school work at all on these days. Some will find that years of travelling, hard work and dedication towards a dream in professional football will have been wasted.

It is also hard on our parents who put in just as much time and effort as we do. They pay for equipment and travelling costs as well as taking time to take and watch their children play.

For the select few that are offered contracts, the dream is still very much alive, but not yet completed. They will probably leave school after their exams and travel to their club's training ground every morning. Players who are not local are given homes to live in with other families.

Their careers will consist of cleaning boots, sweeping a few corridors and playing football, and they will be getting paid to do so. Pay ranges throughout the clubs some trainees are paid up to £90 per week. They will also have a chance to further their education, given time to learn in college and sixth-form through schemes organised by their clubs or the FA.

But until the clubs have made yet another decision in a few years time, whether to offer them a further contract, where they will be treated and paid as professionals and not youth-team players, they will still have only taken a small step towards fame. The fact that not all of the trainees will make it as a pro adds another cruel twist to the lives of these future young stars.

Overall the difference between a career as a player and turning out for the team on Saturdays, or the anguish of being released and watching your once equals play is exceptionally small. But, soon enough, I and many other boys will find out how tough real life can be.

November 22, 2002 11:30