17-year-old goalkeeper Mason thriving at Woking – in just his second season between the sticks!

By Scott Taylor
SAM MASON became the first Woking player born in the 21st century to play in the National League last week – which is not a bad achievement for someone in just his second season as a goalkeeper.
The 17-year-old was handed his opportunity after regular stopper Nathan Baxter suffered a minor ankle injury just 48 hours before their 1-1 draw at home to Maidenhead United.
Mason joined Woking's set-up as a right-back at Under-15 level before making the full transition to between the posts at the start of last season, but has had previous experience with the gloves on.
“I played Sunday League for a lot of clubs; I played for Mayfield and then for Meadow,” he told The NLP.
“I was always a right-back for my Sunday League clubs, but then I started to play a half as a right-back and then the other half in goal.”
Remarkably, this unique tactic led to an opportunity with Crystal Palace after being scouted and then word of mouth meant he trained with the Eagles' academy set-up.
Mason remained there on a non-contract agreement for the U16s, yet still returned to Woking to play as a right-back during that campaign.
The teenager revealed he decided to move into goal after a conversation with Woking's academy manager Scott Harrison, who has already brought through six players into the first team.
Mason added: “Scott sat me down and said: ‘You can stay here and play at right-back but you probably won't get much of an opportunity, if you go in goal after where you have been then you may get a chance'.
“Scott and the goalkeeping coach Matt Winter have both prepared me for my debut, it's a big step, but after their work I felt ready for it.”
The goalkeeper is the latest on a conveyor belt of talent coming out of the academy, with Declan Appau, Ivan Nsimbi and Lazar Stojsavljevic making the step up to the first-team this season, after Charlie Carter broke through last term.
Mason found out that he was making his debut for the Cards just hours before Saturday's game with Maidenhead United, after Anthony Limbrick pulled him to one side and said to him, “this is your chance”.
That chance got off to a less than ideal start, with his first touch picking the ball out of his net after Adrian Clifton's low drive flew past him at the near post inside the opening ten minutes.
After the initial nerves passed, Mason showed maturity with a credible performance, and was happy to jump straight into the deep end rather than have time to think about it.
“If I knew a few days before I would have been constantly thinking about it, so the fact that it came straightaway and I had to deal with it relaxed me a bit,” he added. “I felt like the players were behind me and gave me the confidence to get through that spell and it was a decent performance in the end, so I'm happy.”
Mason is now working under a young manager in Limbrick that likes to keep the ball on the floor, and the goalkeeper believes his experience out on the pitch has helped his distribution.
“The transition from right-back to goalkeeper was good, it made me better with my feet so it made it easier playing out from the back.
“Anthony's a great manager for fact that he has so much confidence in the young players, especially as I'm only 17, so he's got that belief in us to give us chances, which is great for us.”
Mason's fine week continued with his first clean sheet in the midweek 1-0 win against Ebbsfleet United on Tuesday before earning a call-up to the England Schools U18s side for their game against the Independent Schools FA next month.
Despite a good week, Mason's main focus is just to look forward to his next appearance for the Cards.
“I haven't set any targets; I just want to keep doing well and see what happens one step at a time. I was pretty average out on the pitch, so hopefully now I'm in goal I can get somewhere in the future.”
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper, which is available every Sunday.