Phoenix sign Nelson teenager
Promising Nelson teenager Callan Elliot is set to follow in the footsteps of his mentor by playing for the Wellington Phoenix.
The 19-year-old attacking midfielder, who has spent the past three years developing his skills at the Paul Ifill Football Academy, has signed his first professional contract at the club where Ifill finished his own career.
‘‘That was it. The soldiers then took us on a bus, but nothing was said, we didn’t know what was going on. No coach or manager on the bus.
‘‘We ended up going out to the army base and next thing you know we’re getting shouted at. Doing different tasks, working in groups. It was very, very difficult. It was like Marines training.
‘‘From early morning, all day and all through the night. There
He is set to be unveiled as a Phoenix player later this week and could make his A-League debut as early as Sunday’s season opener against the Newcastle Jets.
was no sleep, no food. I was surprised how the lads could keep up doing it.’’
One of the tasks was wrestling. Taylor wouldn’t say who won, but said it got ‘‘feisty’’.
‘‘When you haven’t been fed, you give a little bit more as well.
‘‘We have that bit of fire in the belly now. It was great because it brought the lads together.’’
The boot camp was a continuation of Rudan’s attempt to
Twenty years his junior, Elliot wasn’t even born when Ifill began his career with Millwall but he credits a lot of his development to the former Phoenix star, who scouted him at a trial for his Nelson-based academy back in 2015.
Since then, Elliot has worked closely with Ifill, playing alongside him for both Tasman United and Wairarapa United.
extend both the physical and mental limits of his team to make them the toughest side in the A-League.
Their first week-long preseason camp on the Gold Coast saw them undertake double sessions every day and likely had an impact on their lacklustre performance in the FFA Cup loss to Bentleigh Greens on August 7.
‘‘We’ve trained under fatigue so many times now,’’ Taylor said.