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Safe pair of hands

HE'S just 17 years of age and he has his own franchise!

It's a huge achievement for a teenager, but Darcy Lawless isn't one bit fazed by the responsibilities that go hand in hand with running a business.

That's because it's something he thoroughly enjoys.

His business: soccer goalkeeping coaching. He thrives on it and sees his future in this area.

“I started playing soccer at eight with Temple Villa. I first got into goalkeeping when I was 10,” he says.

He “ended up in goals”, he says, as he “always liked the pressure”.

“Goalkeeping was for me,” says Darcy.

When he was 10 he joined Just4Keepers, a specialised coaching school for goalkeepers and through this he saw his game vastly improve. He met former Crystal Palace player Matt Greg and the positive feedback prompted Darcy to continue to focus on goalkeeping and also goalkeeping coaching.

“I went coaching with Matt and I enjoyed it. He said I had an aptitude for it,” he recalls.

He was selected to go to a training camp in Reading a few years ago. He trained three times a day and it was tough, but he enjoyed the experience. So much so that he wanted to keep working at it.

His experience with Just4Keepers was so positive that he took out a franchise, covering Westmeath, Roscommon and Offaly.

READ DARCY'S STORY IN THIS WEEK'S WESTMEATH INDEPENDENT, OUT NOW.