Liam McCormick is up for a challenge; after beating out 15 others to win a contract with the Brisbane Roar on the television series Football Superstar, the 18 year old is now faced with the reality professional football.
The 18-year-old from the Gold Coast had always harboured dreams of playing football professionally and says that his time at the Roar, as well as competing in Football Superstar, has been a dream come true.
“It has been an unbelievable journey, my time at the Roar has been great and I really enjoy being at the club,” McCormick said.
“Football Superstar was an amazing opportunity and something I will never forget.
“Now I am concentrating on working hard at training and doing my best to impress, I have to always be performing to the best of my ability and be ready to take an opportunity with both hands.”
Although settling into the club seamlessly since his Football Superstar win, McCormick said that his teammates always do their best to keep his feet on the ground.
“The boys like to give me a bit of stick about Football Superstar, there is always a bit of good natured banter but I don-t mind, it comes with the territory,” he said.
McCormick-s arrival at the Roar has coincided with a successful start to the campaign for the club-s youth side, something that he puts down to the level of coaching and the new style of football the club has put in place.
“It-s all about our game plan and the style of football that has been put in place, we play a similar of style to the A-League side that is currently top of the table, so it is no surprise that we have been able to copy their success at Youth league level,” he said.
“The coaching at the club is of a very high quality, Simey (Youth Head Coach John Sime) works us very hard and that has been reflected by the way we have been playing.”
The Roar look to continue their winning form this Saturday when they take on Adelaide United at Spencer Park and McCormick is keen to make a difference after an injury plagued start.
“The boys have trained really hard this week, we always play well at home and this weekend shouldn-t be any different,” he said.
“Unfortunately after Football Superstar I came to the club with an injury so my preseason was focused on rehabbing that injury and getting back to full fitness.
“There is a lot of competition for midfield positions in the side, and sometimes we have to give way to the A-League boys who occasionally drop down for some playing time, but I will keep doing everything I can an hopefully I can get some more playing time as the season goes on.”