Player in Focus: Melvin Minter

MELVIN MINTER

Becoming a professional footballer but not the traditional way... That’s how Town goalkeeper Melvin Minter has done it. From being a teaching assistant to rubbing shoulders with Jimmy Bullard and Anthony Joshua, this is Melvin Minter’s extraordinary journey to Harrogate Town.

By Henry Whitaker

Born in Tottenham, Minter was introduced to football by his Grandma who used to take him to his local sports club not too far from Spurs’ old stadium White Hart Lane.

He grew up in an area of North London which he describes as “a warzone at times”. It was a case of avoiding the wrong groups of people and doing his best to keep on the straight and narrow.

Minter joined his first football team in secondary school and was in between the sticks from the off. He went to an all-boys school that had a heavy focus on sport and it meant Minter was surrounded by kids his age who had that same competitive nature.

Although very competent in goal, Minter never had interest from footballing academies until very late on in his teenage years. It didn’t stop his ambition though and he recalls and careers day talk helping him to focus on what he wanted.

“I’ll never forget the conversation I had with a career advisor after finishing my GCSE mock exams. She told me what steps I needed to take to become a pro footballer and that was the first time I realised what was required to pursue what I wanted. Something was telling me football was always the path for me.”

At 15-years-old, Minter finally got a trial at a professional team, Oxford United. He joined on an extended school boys contract and it was an opportunity for the London lad to show his skills and earn a scholarship.

Unfortunately for the young keeper, he was unable to do enough to earn the contract and instead dropped down into Non-League football.

Minter does however state that the rejection from Oxford was something he needed if he was going to take the next step.

“It was demoralising as it was the first time I had experienced a professional environment and trained every single day,” he explains. “I was focused on what I wanted to do and thought I had done well enough to earn a scholarship but sometimes in life, things don’t work out. It opened my eyes to the wider world,” Minter adds. “I was naive when I was younger and just thought things would come to me and I’d get another club straight away. When that didn’t happen it opened my eyes.”

Minter joined at the time Conference South side Hayes and Yeading and did a very good job for the London side. He played for the under 18s and reserve side which earned him a call up to England’s School Boys team where he travelled to Italy for an international tournament and played against the likes of China and Romania.

This was a confidence boost for Minter and he was now “solely focused” on making it as a professional. It was all going to plan as well, as Brentford then snapped Minter up, joining The Bees as a third-year scholar. However, it was a unique scenario as Minter was too old to play in the youth teams and so instead played with the under 21s, a team of players who all had professional contracts.

When his scholar contract came to an end Minter was released and that made it two releases in three years for the goalkeeper.

“It was the hardest time for me as my mentality wasn’t where it needed to be,” Minter admits. “It was a wake-up call. I needed to realise what I really wanted to do and how was I going to sustain it. At that time, I was more focused on getting there and then once I had it, I didn’t do the things which had gotten me there. I needed the mentality that I’d never want to stop working and wanting to get better.”

Now 20-years-old, Minter went on to join Hendon FC who were in step three of Non-League football. It was his first experience of playing the men’s game and it was a case of play well or get dropped.

Minter explains how it was a “cut-throat experience” as he was in a changing room with grown men who had mortgages to pay. It was, however, also an opportunity for Minter to observe and learn from his older and wiser teammates who helped him manage the highs and lows of playing men’s football.

It was a season where Minter didn’t play as much as he wanted and as he wasn’t prepared to sit on the bench, he opted to move onto Farnborough before Hanwell Town at 21-years-old.

He made a half-century of appearances at Hanwell, became a fan favourite and won supporters player of the season.

A season later, Minter moved up a division to play for Harrow Borough. In that campaign, he kept 15 clean sheets, won player of the year and supporters player of the year. The recognition earned him a trial with Yeovil Town but once again, he failed to earn a professional contract and it was yet another setback for the keeper.

As well as playing Non-League football, for two years Minter had been working a full-time job as a teaching assistant as he could no longer afford to live just playing football.

However, at 23-years-old, Minter gave himself one more shot at becoming a pro.

“I told myself I had three years to make it and if it doesn’t work out then I stabilise myself,” he says. “It was a big risk but at 23, I felt like I still had something to offer if I gave it my all.”

What happened next for Minter changed everything and put him in a spotlight he hadn’t been exposed to before.

He was contacted by a brand called Rising Ballers. They’re a media platform and agency that give a huge amount of exposure to the next generation of footballers.

They’ve worked with the likes of Phil Foden, Callum Hudson Odoi and Bukayo Saka to name a few, and partnered with the likes of Nike, Puma and PlayStation in their four-year existence.

With nearly half a million followers on Instagram and over 3.8 million likes on TikTok, they’re becoming a giant in football’s social media world.

When Minter first joined in 2018, Rising Ballers were in their primitive days but it opened door after door for the goalkeeper. It started with Minter captaining Rising Ballers FC as they played against pro teams with scouts and agents all watching.

During an in-house game, Minter was picked up by Soccer AM who were after a new goalkeeper to feature on their live show.

He went on to do a shoot with Glen Murray, Adebayo Akinfenwa, Tubes, Wayne Bridge and Steve Sidwell and did well. Soccer AM then offered Minter the chance to feature on every live show.

On top of this, he was involved with EA Sports who asked him to partake in video shoots playing FIFA with Anthony Joshua.

It was all happening for the young keeper from North London. He was now getting his big break but not how he expected.

“I thought what was happening was an amazing opportunity. Meeting Anthony Joshua was a crazy experience. He was so humble and supportive. It was the same with Jimmy Bullard. He gave me a lot of love and support and he’s the same on and off camera, lots of energy and very supportive.”

Minter was still playing Non-League football at this point, being Kings Langley’s number one. With the club located just outside of Watford, it was ideal for Minter who could do the gig with Soccer AM in the morning and then play football in the afternoon.

However, King Langley’s manager had decided to not allow Minter to continue this routine. The keeper still had the aim of making it pro and knew being on Soccer AM wasn’t going to get him there. Minter was ready to give up his work with Soccer AM but thankfully for him, a change of manager at the Watford club allowed the keeper to continue his new role. “I was trying to become a professional but the cards I was being dealt weren’t working for me,” Minter says. “Soccer AM wanted me on a full-time basis and at that moment, I was thinking maybe I would become an influencer on social media, like the F2 Freestylers but a GK version. That became my plan if football wasn’t to work out.” It was now March 2020 and Minter was set on working full time with Sky until a trial with Stevenage came about and they said they would sign the keeper on a pro deal. However, this happened just weeks before the first national lockdown and when that came into effect, it ended Minter’s hopes of that deal going through. “Something changed during the summer and they didn’t go through with it,” he explains. “That left me very disheartened and I thought to myself maybe that’s my last chance gone. I had now pretty much decided to go down the route with Soccer AM and when it was set to restart in September I’d be ready to do it. There were a lot of options in the National League South but I wanted to play full time. I didn’t want to have to juggle football and Soccer AM. It was to be one or the other.”

The start of the 2020/21 season is now just around the corner and Minter gets calls from three clubs, Yeovil, Boreham Wood and Harrogate Town.

At the start of the campaign, Town’s number one James Belshaw was out injured, leaving just Joe Cracknell as an eligible keeper.

The Harrogate coaching staff got Minter and other keepers in for a trial to determine who would act as cover.

With Covid regulations in place, Minter needed a negative test to train and a delay in getting his result nearly meant he missed his chance. Nonetheless, he managed to make the trip up to Yorkshire and was chosen to be Town’s new keeper.

“When I came for the trial, everyone was welcoming and cool. I noticed straight away the culture here that everyone is in sync in terms of being humble and hardworking. This was an environment I wanted to be part of. The first time having the name on the back of my shirt and signing that first deal were big, big moments. “Maybe a month or two prior, I never expected that to happen. I was grateful more than anything else.”

The deal Minter signed was originally for a month and although the keeper describes that as a “bittersweet” moment, it made him more determined to have that contract extended.

In October 2020, that hard work paid off as the Gaffer told Minter that he wanted him to stay for the remainder of the season.

A moment of “relief” for the keeper.

He now had security for the rest of the season and he could now focus on finding a loan move to play some first-team football.

Two weeks after signing his extension, Minter made his way north to Darlington, joining on an initial month-long loan.

Once he got his chance in the first team, he impressed and got his loan extended for a further month. A man of the match performance then followed against Telford in the FA Trophy and it got the Darlington fans excited as they could see the potential in their new keeper.

However, football is a funny old sport and just as Minter was finding his groove, his loan was cut short following a knee injury to Joe Cracknell just after Christmas.

Since returning, Minter has been an integral part of Town’s goalkeeping union, part of a family within the Harrogate Town family.

Minter has aims of becoming a number one at a Football League club in the future, as well as representing Ghana’s international team, something he’s had early discussions about.

With a cool head and a belief in the process, the keeper is optimistic about what the future holds.

“Goalkeepers can play until 40 years of age so I feel like I’m at the start of my career. I’ve got a lot to learn and the aim for me is to play professionally and represent my country of heritage. That, and to play as high as I can. I’ve just got to keep on working.”

Minter was on loan at Darlington earlier this season before being recalled by Town as cover for James Belshaw