The Boy Who Wears The Captain’s Arm Band
If you were to see Shreyash Naik in his classroom at Fr. Agnel Pilar, you wouldn’t say, there was something out of the ordinary about the boy.
In a classroom of regular kids, the local lad currently residing at the state of the art, Dempo Academy facility at Ella, Old Goa, is just a normal kid, Smile on the face and not a care in the world.
However, If you were to see Shreyash Naik after he has laced his football boots, you would quite possibly be in for the surprise of your lifetime.
To keep it brief, let’s just say, between his Teachers and his Coaches, one of the two knows for sure that the boy is a genius.
The Number 9 This Season:
To say the boy has been in scintillating form would be an insult to the young lad! To put it simply, he has been a goal machine this season!
To hammer in 5 goals in a game is no easy feat. But to do it twice in two consecutive matches is a bit of a joke!
The Dempo lad got his first goal of the season versus SAI Training Centre, finding the net in the 2nd minute of the game. Once he opened his account for the campaign, the lad then went on a rampage, making the net bulge a total of 5 times, before hammering the woodwork at the dead to try and get himself his 6th.
Against Churchill Brothers, the lad took just 22 minutes to complete his first-half hat trick and by the time the fourth official looked at his watch to update the score sheet at the 51st minute, the golden eagle captain had already bagged his 5th of the game.
The season continued with more of the same, with the lad banging in goal after goal after goal and as the season progressed, the boy’s numbers looked more and more insane after every game.
With the GFA Under 16 League over, Shreyash Naik’s numbers for the season read:
Games Played: 12
Goals Scored: 27
5 Goal Games: 2
4 Goal Games: 1
Hat tricks: 2
Braces: 2
Averaging about 2 goals every game. Which is nothing short of brilliant!
Apart from his obvious goal-scoring prowess, the boy also possesses a keen understanding of the game. Drawing defenders out of position and linking with teammates to get balls in behind the center-backs, a trait that saw him help with the goal-scoring too, helping him chip in with quite a few assists this season.
Even though these are early stages in his development, the Academy boy has already shown that he has something that most teams search for but never find, a PROLIFIC STRIKER.
Under the watchful eye of Head Coach, Remus Gomes, We could be looking at a future Indian Player in our midst, adding to the Dempo Academy’s already growing name in the vertical that is Youth development.
