Goalkeeper off to Korea for the under 12s JS Cup tournament

Hi, my name's Cole Johnson.

Since I was 7yo I found my passion in Goalkeeping, it has been my happy place ever since!

Football has helped me in many ways including helping me navigate everyday life challenges and being on the spectrum.

My favorite past time is kicking a ball around with friends and family. 3 years ago, we saw our local club HBCAFC was holding trials for the development squad, I was surprised and happy to find out I got selected! Since then, I have worked really hard and have become a full time keeper.

This summer I spent some time training with NZGKU, the coach Louie put me forward to trial with Auckland International Football Club to go to a tournament in Korea called the JS Cup.

I went through a series of trials and was selected!

The tournament is run over 7 days and has very strong teams from all over the world attending, teams like Chelsea Academy and Celtics under 12 Academy! We will be the only team from New Zealand. I am excited to learn how other teams train and about different cultures. My mum will be coming as well to support me.

During all this I have been getting support and encouragement from many people and I'm very grateful. I will work hard to learn and grow from this experience and model our cultures values throughout the tournament.