Canuck Teenager to Test Skills in England

[Winnipeg Fury]

Teenager to test soccer skills with English club

SAM LASKARIS

Apr. 23, 2004

Though he's only been playing soccer for four years, Etobicoke's Christopher Sheriffe has already managed to turn plenty of heads.

And the local 14-year-old is being touted as a possible pro prospect after agreeing to a four-year commitment to train with the youth-affiliated teams of Birmingham City, a pro club in England.

Sheriffe, a member of the Etobicoke Youth Soccer Club, landed his deal with Birmingham City earlier this month.

But Birmingham City was not the first pro club from England to express an interest in Sheriffe, an offensively-gifted forward.

Last year he had spent several weeks training in England at a youth academy run by the Blackburn Rovers, another pro club.

Sheriffe's family, however, wanted him to have a tryout with Birmingham City. That's because if was good enough to be accepted into its youth program, he could live with an aunt who lives nearby.

And that's exactly what he'll be doing starting this August.

Sheriffe, a Grade 7 student at Monsignor John Corrigan, has a rather simple goal for the next few years he'll be playing overseas.

"I just want to perform well," he said.

He's certainly been doing that locally in recent years.

Sheriffe only started playing soccer at age 10. But it didn't take him long to demonstrate plenty of offensive skills.

"I guess he was always a natural," said his mother Marjorie. "He's always played (in a division) two years up."

That includes his first year in the sport when he toiled for an under-12 house league team.

As for the next few months, Sheriffe will toil with the Etobicoke Energy boys' under-16 team. He's also a member of the Ontario under-15 side.

Marjorie admitted she was somewhat hesitant in having her son move to England on his own at such a young age.

"He wants to do it," she said. "I don't want to take that away from him. He wants to play soccer."

[beachesl]

Hmmmm, didn't like the "aunt who lives nearby" part. Means he probably

has, or has a right to, a British passport. Hope he's got Hume's patriotism.

[TorontoInferno]

The literacy tests in place should in theory 'fail' someone who couldn't read at the prescribed grade level...I'm not going to speculate in this case but this could be a case..There are many ways a child can be older in a grade without being necessarily failed...Homeschooling, or transfered from a different school system (my cousin transfered from a private school to public and had to retake a grade) are ways that you may be held back until certain requirements are met...

good luck to the lad...he must have some talent to be going abroad at that young age...

[Gian-Luca]

It could easily be a typo/fact mistake from the original article.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack

Here's the electronic version of the article:

http://www.insidetoronto.ca/to/sports/story/1848436p-2158012c.html

The school in question, Monsignor John Corrigan, is an elementary school, leading me to believe that it isn't a typo.

Well it depends on what the typo or fact mistake is (the grade or his age). If he's actually in Grade 8, the age of 14 would make sense if he has a Jan-April birthday.

[Grizzly]

Well he is certainly no Adu who has already graduated high school at age 14. I predict by age 17 Adu will be a star for Man U and have a doctorate in nuclear physics. Man we Canadians sure have a lot of reasons to be jealous of the Americans with their soccer talent and bringing the gift of freedom to the world.

[Gordon]

I have a nephew who just turned 14 and is in Grade 7. He wasn't held back per se, but his mom made the decision when it came time to start Kindergarten that he wasn't ready for it. He has done fine in school since and looks forward to being the coolest kid in Grade 9.