Ewan Catt - The Trials And Tribulations of Football Page 16

By Adam Hardy

It happened nearly 4 years ago, but Ewan Catt remembers it like it was yesterday. Coming off the bench to make his TV debut in the FA Cup with his family and friends watching on. A moment he recalls as the ‘best day of his life’. The young forward hoped this would be the kickstart of his footballing career, but life had other plans for the young centre forward. Having started playing football at the young age of 3 in Chesterfield, Ewan had never been bothered by academies. Up until the age of 13, when Sheffield United came calling. The prospect of playing for the then championship side was an opportunity he had “dreamed about”. Steve Squires, Ewan’s first ever manager reminisced on his talent “I don’t think we understood he was special un til about the age of 12. He started to grow physically, he got very quick, he had already been a skilful footballer, but this took him to the next level.” Ewan spent the next four years at Sheffield United, “it was a different level of football there, not like anything I had experienced before. The coaching was different, it was more technical than I was used to, but it definitely helped me improve.” Everything was rosy on the red side of Sheffield for Ewan until 2015 when he was called to the manager’s office. “I was surprised, it came as a shock to me and my dad when they called us in. They told me I was done and to keep my head up and move on. They never really gave a reason; just said I didn’t fit the style they wanted anymore.” The young centre forward re- called feeling “embarrassed and lost” not knowing how to tell his friends at school. I kept it quiet for a while and just played Sunday League football. then Sheffield Wednesday asked if I wanted to train with their U16s.” This new prospect opened new avenues for the forward. “They had a good programme, I was excited.” Despite his success in football, it wasn’t the only sport he’d had opportunities in. Ewan was a county champi on 100m hurdler and in his younger years at secondary school he had avenues through hockey. “My PE teacher told me if I dedicated all my time to hockey, I could go professional.” Both sports were enjoyable for Ewan, but they didn’t compare to football. He knew if he wanted to make a career out of football he had to dedicate all his time to Sheffield Wednesday. “I don’t think it was just that I enjoyed football more, I knew that football was a more attractive option for my future, and my family agreed.” A decision he is now thankful for. But he doesn’t remember his time at Wednesday fondly. “I hated football at that point, it was the first time in my life I really thought about quitting, and then I got released.” “Leaving there felt as painful as United, it definitely feels like rejection, like I wasn’t good enough and it made me think I was never gonna make it.” It didn’t help Ewan that he had chosen to focus solely on football. “After I joined Sheffield Wednesday I let school take the back seat, I wasn’t focusing in lessons and thought that if I was going to make it I had to be serious about football and football only.” His mother noticed the changes, “I don’t think he enjoyed school when he was younger, but I think he understood it was important.” At Primary School, Ewan was especially gifted in English, he was a part of a selected group that would visit his local high school for extracurricular English. As he progressed through school and his dream became closer to reality his grades slowly started to slip. That didn’t bother him though, and after his release from Sheffield Wednesday he was “more determined than ever”. The forward went back again to a Sunday League team and had his best season ever registering 32 goals in just 19 games in 2018. This great run of form was enough to grab the attention of Northern Premier League team Buxton F.C. He began to develop a good relationship with the coaches and made the most progress he ever had. At 16, Ewan felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. Ewan describes this time as the worst of his life, battling with depression due to both life and football. He eagerly awaited being told whether or not he was going to get a scholarship at the club. He and his then girlfriend silently waited together hoping for good news. “The gaffer came out and shouted my name, it was a quick meeting. They just told me they’d like to keep me on.”

Everything began to go Ewan’s way at Buxton he was soon moved into the senior team and began to make substitute appearances. It wasn’t paradise at Buxton though, Ewan recalls again “falling out of love with football” during his time there despite experiencing the best day of his life at the club. His

2nd round debut in the FA cup against League One’s Morecambe. But he knew he had turned a corner and began looking at other opportunities. Ewan considered University and having deferred the year before to focus on football this was a drastic U-turn. “It was just paralysing, I would wake up everyday dreading playing, I just hated it that much” As a young boy football captivated his life, “My dad was my inspiration, he’d tell me stories from when his playing days and that just made me want to succeed, not just for myself but for him too. I wanted to accomplish things in the game that he hadn’t.” That is why it came as such a shock to the footballer’s father when he let him know he was going to university and was contem plating dropping football completely. In the summer of that year, Ewan was struck with illness and admitted to hospital. Here the player had to have his appendix removed and this ruled him out of football for 14 weeks, seriously limiting his play time and his growth. This was the deciding factor for Ewan and the striker enrolled into a sports science course and decided to press on with football. He joined Litherland Remyca, where he scored four in his first three games. But his nightmare continued, and soon after his good run of goals Ewan found himself on the bench again feeling the same way he had before. He felt the decision to leave the team was made for him and he left. He is now training with Marine U23’s and beginning to enjoy his football again. Only the future knows what will behold of Ewan’s once frightening footballing potential.