(GOAL MACHINE: Tom Hill, right, netted 68 goals this season)
By Matt Badcock
Heard about the goalscoring sensation in the West Midlands Regional League who has found the back of the net no fewer than 68 times and is nicknamed Vardy by his team-mates? Meet Wolverhampton Sporting goal ace Tom Hill.
The 22-year-old has helped Sporting to the title this season as well as victory in the League Cup.
His talent has also led to selection for this summer's V9 Academy – the talent stage laid on by Non-League-turned-England striker Jamie Vardy.
Hill will join 42 other players at Manchester City's Etihad Campus for the week-long training camp at the beginning of June.
Scouts from across the country will attend but Hill says he's just going to enjoy the experience and is keeping his feet on the ground – not difficult when his achievements are the subject of plenty of banter among his Sporting team-mates.
“I've had a bit of interest from clubs in higher leagues and I've been selected for V9 so they've been calling me ‘Vardy' and giving me lots of banter about it,” Hill told The NLP. “You get more stick when you're doing well!
“At first I couldn't believe I'd got the opportunity to go to V9. A mate I used to play with at Wolves, Cieron Keane, went there last year. I had a chat with him and he gave me a few tips on what goes on. Just to even get the opportunity and experience is massive. There's no pressure. You've just got to go out and do what you normally do.
“Without Vardy coming on the scene, players like myself wouldn't be getting a look-in. He's give players like myself a massive opportunity.
“I've always wanted to be a footballer. It's any young kids' dream when they enjoy playing football. That's what you want to be and the life you want to live. As long as you keep trying, the dream is never over.”
Hill was at Wolves from the age of ten to 18 before joining Shifnal Town and after scoring against Sporting went to the top of boss Andy Paddock's wish list.
Initially Hill turned them down but Paddock's persistence finally paid off in the summer.
“In pre-season, at 8.12am on a Saturday morning, I got a text message saying, ‘I want you to come and sign for me',” Hill, a therapeutic support worker by day, said. “So he was quite persistent and I thought anyone who keeps trying to get me, why not give it a bash?
“We had a couple of meetings and he promised me I'd score goals in a good side – he's been proven right! The boys have been tremendous.
“They welcomed me with open arms and made me feel part of the side. I didn't know anyone there at all so it was a new challenge.
“It's also got a lot to do with enjoying your life away from football as well as enjoying your football.”
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper which is available every Sunday and Monday
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