|  Who am I?
My name is Jamie Shore and I was involved in the world of professional
football from the age of seven. I played for local junior sides
as a youngster, and then graduated to county youth football at the
age of 11. After that, I attended Schools of Excellence, designed
to cater for the best young footballers in the Bristol region.
At
12 I was picked up by Norwich City, who were lying third in the
Premiership at the time I joined their elite youth system. I was
fortunate enough to travel to a number of foreign countries, including
Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Ireland and Sweden, as I continued
to enhance and broaden my overall football education.
By
14 I had been approached by a number of other Premiership clubs
– including Arsenal and Southampton – and had been offered a contract
with Manchester United. I decided to remain with Norwich because
of their highly rated youth system and then went through demanding
trials for the FA’s National School at Lilleshall.
Along
with 15 of the other top young prospects in England, I was fortunate
enough to win a full-time placement at Lilleshall – along with teammates
Jamie Carragher, Jodie Morris and Stephen Clemence.
Trials
for England’s Under-16 side followed, and I became a first-team
regular in midfield and was privileged to take part in the UEFA
Youth Championships in Dublin, playing alongside current Liverpool
and England stars Emile Heskey and Jamie Carragher, and Everton’s
Richard Wright.
Shortly
afterwards, on my 17th birthday, I became the youngest player ever
to sign as a professional at Norwich and gradually progressed to
the Canaries’ first-team squad, training alongside Chris Sutton,
Danny Mills, Ade Akinbiyi and Robert Fleck.
But
just five weeks later, playing against Arsenal, I went in for a
tackle and suffered the horrific knee injury which was eventually
to cut short my professional career.
After
three years – and nine operations – I joined my home town club Bristol
Rovers confident I could relaunch my playing career alongside and
under player-manager Ian Holloway. I scored five goals in 22 starts
and was rewarded with a four-and-a-half year contract.
Sadly,
my knee problems were to escalate and I was ultimately forced to
retire from the professional game. Now, with the help of my other
fully qualified staff, I aim to ensure the next generation of up-and-coming
local footballers can benefit from my experience.
Being
young and gifted
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