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Gareth Fullerton

Linfield Academy teen aiming high after earning Future Stars success

A West Belfast teenager is aiming high after being recognised in the recent Queen's University Belfast Soccer Future Stars awards.

Rathmore Grammar School student Daniel Fox was one of 11 young players selected from schools across Northern Ireland.

The QUB initiative identifies potential stars of the future in various sporting codes including soccer, GAA, hockey and rugby.

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Daniel - who is part of Linfield's Academy - received an email from Rathmore announcing he had been named as one of those Future Stars, and he and his family attended a special ceremony at Queen's earlier this week.

"I am delighted with the recognition. I couldn't believe it when I was told," Daniel said.

"It was great to attend the ceremony the other night and collect the award. It has given me a real boost and extra drive to progress even further.

"We are having a great season with Linfield. We have won every single game and we have the NI Cup next Monday against Crusaders.

"I love it at Linfield, and I love playing football at Rathmore. We have a good team at school. All the players are good and the coaches have been great as well.

"This has definitely given me added motivation and I just have to keep learning and developing as a player."

Daniel's father Fra says his son has been playing football since he was five years old.

"He has always been into football and he loves it. So it is nice to get recognition like this," Fra said.

"Daniel was named in midfield on the Future Stars team, and as a family we are so proud of him. It is a wonderful accomplishment.

"He seems to be doing well at Rathmore. He is a third year student but plays in the fourth year team. He is also one of the youngest players selected for the Future Stars soccer team.

"Daniel has been into soccer since he was about five years of age, and he has been at Linfield's Academy the past three seasons. He plays in the 2008 age group.

"He loves it there and Linfield is a great academy headed up by Glenn Ferguson. Daniel's coaches Aaron, Chris and Robin have been great at Linfield.

"He is only 14 and won't be 15 until the end of August, so he is still a young boy. This gives him a massive lift.

"Straight after he collected his award he was straight over to play a match for Linfield. That's how committed he is, he loves it.

"He has also been part of the Northern Ireland set-up at Under 15 level. He was in Slovenia just before Christmas and loved that.

"It was a friendly tournament which was a great experience for him."

Fra added: "Every kid dreams of playing professional football and I am sure Daniel is no different, but he realise the work is takes to reach that level.

"He also studies hard to make sure he stays on top of his education, if his dream of playing football doesn't work out."

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