Guaranteed Six

"So what's up with the guaranteed six?" Alexis asked Trey as they walked to school. Since he was stuck with someone who never shut up, he might as well extract some information from him.

"Oh, it's really nothing". Trey said. "They are irreplaceable assets in the team. Two of them are there because their parents are sponsors or something for the school team while the rest are there because they're just that good".

"Which one are you?" Alexis asked.

"My dad's the kit sponsor". Trey said. "But other than that I think I'm pretty capable of getting in the normal way, but that's way more stress so it's better to have a guaranteed spot". Trey chuckled.

"What about the other guy?" Alexis asked. "The other person with rich parents".

"His dad is the main sponsor. He pays for travelling, training equipment, everything. There wouldn't be a football team without his dad. But he's a pretty decent baller too". Trey said. "He's our starting goalkeeper. Name Is Andy Callohven".

"And then there's the four ballers in the guaranteed six". Trey continued talking. "Normally, our school team is one of the worst in the state. That was up until last year, when the school pulled out all the stops to hire a new head coach, someone with coaching experience at the highest level as far as academy coaching is concerned. We ended up going all the way to the finals of the Proprietor's cup and we probably would've won it if we weren't reduced to ten men at the beginning of the match".

"You guys must be pretty good then". Alexis commented.

"We were. Most of the team were made up of seniors. They're mostly gone now, the four ballers in the guaranteed six are the only starters remaining from last year". Trey said. "To avoid something like that happening again, the school decided to start allowing people from lower classes to try out. I heard that it's open all the way to year eight this time".

Alexis was a bit surprised when he heard that new bit of information, but after thinking about it, it made sense. After losing so many key players, the school was in danger of having only short term success. By allowing players from the younger classes, they can spot outstanding players earlier and continue to groom them.

"What about the four ballers or whatever you're calling them?" Alexis asked.

"Oh. There's Archie. Archie Black. He's a defensive midfielder. One of the best in the state. Rumour has it that he's on trial with Birmingham City's under eighteen. If all goes according to plan, he'll start playing for their youth team after he graduates this summer".

"There's also James O'Riley. Top right back. He led the charts for most assists in the Proprietor's cup last year. He can also play in the midfield if needed. He's also on trial with Birmingham City. Unlike Archie, he's already in the team though, he just has to wait until he turns eighteen before it's official. Brexit nonsense and all"

"He's not from England?" Alexis arched his brow.

"Nah. He's a foreign exchange student from Canada". Trey answered. "Thirdly, there's Michael Uche. He moved in here from Nigeria about two years ago and he's proven himself to be one of the best young strikers in school football. He's signed for Middlesbrough Red all the way in Teeside. He's also waiting until he turns eighteen because of Brexit rules and all that".

"And last but not the least, there's David Archer. He's a central midfielder but can also play as an attacking midfielder if needed. Top tier talent and is on trial with Birmingham United, a team playing in The English Premier League and from the looks of it, he's going to sign a pro contract with them very soon. The crazy part is… he's never been to an academy before!".

Alexis was surprised when he heard about the last person. The English football pyramid was a very complex affair, the most complex football pyramid in all of Europe. Most countries had about three top tiers and then there were clubs vying to become pro, but the English football pyramid was a lot more. There was the lowest division of football, the Non League division, where football clubs aspiring to get on to the professional scene played, Then there was the National League divided into the North and South group. It went on until The English Championship and above that was The English Premier League.

Clubs like Birmingham City and Middlesbrough Red played in The English Championship, while Birmingham United played in The English League. For someone that probably didn't have any affiliation with an academy to be good enough to earn a pro contract from a club doing quite well in The English League then he must've been massively good.

Alexis liked to think of himself as someone extremely talented. But he had been trained in an academy since he was little. He had been taught the right and wrongs of football before he had matured properly so much so that it had become engraved in his mind. For someone to teach himself to play and do it so well that a top tier team was after his signature, that meant that he was quite good.

At that moment, Alexis was humbled. He no longer saw himself as someone untouchable talent. There was a saying that no matter how good you were, there was always someone better.

After walking for a few more minutes, Alexis and Trey arrived at the football pitch. Seeing as they were early, Alexis wanted to start doing a bit of practice on his own but Trey stopped him.

"You'll be benched automatically. Coach says no one should do anything without permission. If you want to train early, you have to ask him in advance". Trey said.

Alexis found what Trey said a bit funny. Nevertheless, he decided to wait for the coach to come. Every coach had their ideologies and beliefs on how their players should behave. He had been taught so many times that as a player, his job was to listen to his coach… no matter what he says.

And like that, Alexis ended up spending the next ten minutes listening to Trey talk about his first training session in the school team.