He shoots… he scores! _{by Madelaine Empson}

Nine-year-old Joaquin Hollis has been selected as one of just 10 players under the age of 10 to represent New Zealand at the prestigious Barcelona Academy World Cup this April. I sat down with the young striker – who plays at Wellington Olympic AFC – and his dad Sam to talk about the huge score and the help they need to get to Barcelona. You can pitch in by searching ‘Support a Rising Football Star’ or ‘Joaquin Hollis’ at Givealittle.co.nz.

How did it feel to be selected for the Barcelona Under-10s Football World Cup!

Joaquin: It was very, very cool! I was really happy that happened.

Where were you when you got the news?

J: I was here at my dad’s house.

Sam: I got the phone call on a Saturday evening, the day after the camp had finished. Joaquin had gone back to his mum’s place (we are separated) so I called her – she brought Joaquin here so we could tell him the news together.

And how did you celebrate?

J: I haven’t really celebrated yet. I’m going to Auckland tomorrow, to see my family friends and grandparents. I’m probably just going to celebrate there.

Was it always a goal of yours to go?

J: That was my dream, to go to Barcelona.

How long have you been playing football?

J: I only started football two years ago. I was playing rugby for like, three years before that.

What do you most love about football?

J: I have no idea! [Laughs] I just started liking football.

How many times do you play a week?

S: At school, what do you do every lunchtime, every day?

J: Play football!

How about outside of school?

S: He’s training a couple of times a week – with one of the coaches every Monday – and will be back into the David Ball Academy on the 14^th of February. David Ball is a former Phoenix player, originally from the UK, who was part of the Manchester City Academy. He’s running an academy in Wellington, basically to help bring up youth football here. He’s got it going on and knows what he’s doing. Joaquin started last year in term four, he did a six-week programme, and we thought it was really beneficial for him.

You were selected for the Barcelona Under-10s Football World Cup at the Barça Academy camp, which you went to in January. Please tell me about the camp.

J: On the first day, we did ball control. After every little bit of the training, we do a little game at the end, two games at the end, and we verse different teams, and you have the older team and the youngers.

We did advantages and disadvantages. We played some games, there was one team and another team in each group, and there was a person that had a different bib on, and they helped the team that had the ball. And it was the team that had the most seconds with the ball who won. There was a countdown every five, 10 minutes.

On the third day we did shooting, finishing, and scoring. It was kind of like a full-on game day.

And then the last day, we did everything together. Ball control, ball positioning, advantages and disadvantages, and shooting, all together.

And then at the end we did a champion’s league game. You know how there were the four teams that I said? There were four teams, and there was a semi-final. Everyone was in the semi-final, and whoever won got to the final. And then the people that lost the semi-finals went to third and fourth place. Our team came third.

It was really, really fun.

What was your favourite thing that you did?

J: Probably the finishing, shooting, and scoring.

And who’s your favourite football player ever?

J: Messi!

What does the trip to Barcelona look like?

J: You get to go to the training facilities there, play there, and then the world cup, you verse different academies from around the world. Then you get to play at another facility where the real Barça team [Futbol Club Barcelona] plays.

Will you have any free time?

J: Yeah, the world cup is four days and then the other six days you get tours of Barcelona and you get to watch a game.

What are you most excited about?

J: The game. Oh no, probably the world cup first and then watching the game.

What is your dream from there?

J: Play in Barcelona one day, on the first team, that’s my dream.

A question for Dad: what do you need to get Joaquin to Barcelona?

S: Obviously it comes at a huge cost. He’s got an Instagram page, @joaquinhollisfootball, and we’ve got a Givealittle page set up, which has had a bit of traction. It’s been really nice to see donations coming in. I’ve sent loads of emails out for potential sponsorships and still waiting to hear back about some grants, but have had Liquorland Miramar come back saying they’ll put $500 towards it. Amazing. We’ve been contacting local businesses to get vouchers, anything and everything to put towards raffles. We’re trying to cover all our bases and just make it happen. Get the word out there however we can!

And finally, what does it mean to you that Joaquin has been handpicked for the world cup?

S: It was a pretty surreal phone call. I couldn’t speak a word! I was kind of confused, we were under the impression they were picking certain kids for an experience clinic at the end of the year, so we were aware of that, but they hadn’t mentioned there would be a world cup in April. They’d never been to New Zealand before, so they weren’t sure what the quality was like here of young footballers. A week in Wellington and they saw a few select people that they thought stood out, like Joaquin. She told me he’d been selected for the end-of-year thing and said, ‘We’ve also got a world cup in April… you’re the first parent we’ve called’. I was a little bit shaky. Started getting a bit teary. It was very special. Joaquin deserves it. He works very hard. He’s only been playing football for two years, but I can see how passionate he is about it. When he’s on the pitch with his mates and he scores a goal, whether that’s to tie the game, win the game… you can just see it. How much it means to him. I might not be a football guy myself (I played rugby growing up), but I love getting out on the pitch and kicking the ball around with Joaquin. He can get me all tangled up in my feet with his footwork. He runs rings around me!