EVERYONE associated with football lives by the age-old adage that if you don't shoot, you don't score.
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Talented Port Saints defender James Garrett acknowledges that after he returned from a 12-month stint in London with the Arsenal football academy.
The 21-year-old lives and breathes football and soon after he finished high-school made the decision to combine travelling with coaching.
Courtesy of the grapevine he found a coaching program online that was based in Europe where he wasted little time applying.
A few failed Skype calls before he left Australia later, Garrett took a gamble and told development program contacts of the dates he was scheduled to be in London.
The rest is history.
"I took a gamble and was going to travel anyway so I had my intentions on living in London and being on the program without having gotten in yet," he said.
2000 applicants were then condensed to a group of 20 and the result was a six-month stint as part of the English Premier League giant's coaching development program.
Basically, Garrett took a shot from outside the penalty area and wasted little time forming connections with a number of people.
His shot is currently on target.
"I've got my foot in the door now so I can apply what I've learned overseas to here," he said.
"You either sink or swim over there and a lot of us on the program definitely swam and the goal for me is to get back overseas - especially Europe - once COVID is over.
"Ideally I'd like to work as an academy coach because my passion is youth development and that type of area."
He was only 18 when he left Port Macquarie and admitted the experience was an eye-opener, but one he would do again.
"It was a big culture shock moving from a friendly town to the big city in terms of the pace and how everything is so accessible," he said.
"I adapted quite well and miss it. Being on the tube in such a small space where everyone's going about their day was quite a unique experience."
People talk about English football results no matter what the division is - and it doesn't matter their age.
"It's like a religion over there; even if you don't have a team you know the scores and players on teams," he said.
"It's a great environment to be in because you learn so much and there's always someone willing to have a chat about football.
"It's a passionate culture about football which I love."
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