A YOUNG Aberystwyth footballer is making great strides in the early stage of her career

Ysgol Penweddig pupil Katie Whiteway has come a long way since she started to kick a ball in the back garden with her two older brothers, Brendan and Cameron.

Her progress has been so rapid that Katie, who has just turned 15, has represented Cymru at Under 15s, 16s and 17s and has a number of clubs monitoring her progress.

In that time she has received three player of the match awards for her country and scored her first goal against the Republic of Ireland at Under 16s level.

She has also played in European qualifiers for the under 17s against France, Scotland and Slovakia.

Keen Everton fan Katie said: “Putting on that shirt means everything to me, knowing how hard I’ve worked for it.

“I am incredibly humble and grateful for every opportunity and the support that has been shown towards me along the way.

“Scoring my first goal for Wales was a surreal moment that I’ll never forget, one of my proudest moments in the Wales shirt.”

The central defender added: “I could barely sleep after finding out that I had been called up for the under 17s for the three qualifiers out in France. Playing with the under 17s and getting player of the match is my biggest achievement.”

Katie, who also has a younger brother Harri, kicked off her career with a Bow Street Juniors, who were mainly all boys, and was also selected for Aberystwyth Town Academy’s boys side.

She also represented Ceredigion and undertook a successful trial with the Welsh Development set-up.

The Welsh Development team were happy for Katie to train with them once a week and to continue to train and play games for Aber’s academy but by the end of the season, there was a change to the age groups at Aberystwyth and after a discussion with North Development it was decided that it was best for Katie to go full time up north.

The move highlighted Katie’s determination to make progress and her family’s dedication and support to travel weekly to North Development’s base at Wrexham’s Colliers Park.

Training sessions are held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday with games played on Sundays which adds up to more than 700 miles of travelling most weeks for mum and dad Danny Whiteway and Emma Cook.

Proud father Danny said: “Katie has the backing of Penweddig and her number one fan outside of the household, head of year Nia Wyn for allowing her to leave school early to attend training and for time off during international camps.”

He added: “Kate has a great mix of dedication, passion, determination and the willingness to learn and to add to her understanding of the game.

“This is in addition to her strong attributes such as leadership, positioning, organisation, composure and knowing when to break lines.

“She is always looking for the next stride to find the next path on the way to a successful football career and has a number of clubs monitoring her progress.”

Katie recently returned from an international camp in Spain playing for the under 15s against Portugal and is looking forward to attending pre-season sessions during the summer break with Leicester City’s under 21s.

Anyone interested in sponsoring Katie to help her reach her goals can contact Danny Whiteway on 07812541806 or email [email protected].