Jarrod Bowen has spoken to Kelly Somers in the first of a series called 'The Football Interview'.
The West Ham captain talks about how he started playing football at a young age before joining Hereford United.
Here's a part of the interview:
Kelly: What's your earliest memory of playing?
Jarrod: Probably the first club I played for - Leominster Minors. The venue and the big playing field are still there now. That would be my first memory. I've had brothers and sisters who have played there as well, and friends who have been there. To see that it's still going when I go home, it's nice to be back and be down there and remember when I was that age playing in the fields without a care in the world and a big smile on my face.
Kelly: Talk to me about how they were as a team, and how old you were when you joined.
Jarrod: I think I must have started when I was four or something - really young - but I played there until about 15. I started at such a young age. I had Hereford as well, which was more of a development school but we had the same players from my hometown team playing there as well because it wasn't the biggest place of terms of catchment of players. So we pretty much had the same players for our local team and one that was 20 minutes away.
Kelly: It sounds like such a local community and quite tight-knit. When you eventually played for Hereford, you must've felt incredible. It must have felt like a dream at that point.
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| Bowen Scores For Hereford At Bournmouth In The FA Youth Cup December 2013 |
Jarrod: Yeah, there was me and someone else who played for the Leominster team that went on to play for Hereford as well. All my friends, when I scored my first goal, were behind the goal. We still have pictures and videos that we always send each other. That moment was just, for me, incredible at the time of being 16/17, playing, then to score at the stadium week in, week out at the end that we used to sit behind the goal, then my friends being there as well... it was incredible.
Kelly: Who would you say has had the biggest impact on your career? Is there a coach or a person?
Jarrod: I always think, not one person, my mum and dad. From such a young age, taking me to different places all around the country. For them to take time out of their days to take me there, support me there, and help me get to where I am now. I think it's such a great feeling when my mum's asking me to sign a shirt for someone from the school I went to. I know, for her, it means the world to her as well because she just sees me as still her little boy, but it's kind of changed in that way as well.
I think another one in terms of football would probably be my youth team coach at Hereford. There was a couple of things that went my way in terms of making my debut for Hereford. My youth team coach became the first-team manager because I don't think they could afford a new manager, so little things like that helped me and I think without doing that I wouldn't be sat here today. Because I wouldn't have had that opportunity to play for Hereford, that helped me move to Hull and now I'm here.
Kelly: Has there been a turning point? It's not been a straightforward linear journey. Your journey has been different to most footballers - from Hereford, Hull, then to the Premier League, winning a European trophy and with England. Is there one moment you can pinpoint that you think, actually, that's where it all changed?
Jarrod: Probably when I got rejected from Cardiff before I went to Hereford because I went on trial to Cardiff for about six weeks and at the time I thought 'Right my local team Hereford's not got anything for me to have that path.' I've gone to Cardiff, thought 'I've done really well for six weeks and they've said no as well'. So I was kind of like 'This is it now then... it's not going to be.'
But then I think that rejection from Cardiff and then Hereford and then starting back up just made me appreciate it so much more. In the end I was just enjoying playing football because I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know if it was just going to end and I was playing at Hereford and I thought 'It can't get much better than this.' I was happy with that. Then a few things happened.
I moved to Hull at 17, which was a big lifestyle difference. Three and a half hours away from home was absolutely horrendous but those things have all helped me off the pitch and then it helps you on the pitch as well. But I think if you can mature as a person off the pitch, it helps you.
So, a few things have happened, but I'd say that Cardiff rejection... I thought 'This was the end, so let me be appreciative of playing when I can.'
Watch the interview at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002hdpv/the-football-interview