Raheem Sterling

George Lappas, his coach at Brent Under-11s

I was first told about Raheem by Rachel Yankey, the England international, who had done some coaching work in a pupil referral unit where Raheem was spending some time. She said she had met a kid with incredible potential. When we first got him down to a trial, he was much smaller than we expected but he was easily our best player in a very strong year.

We discovered a problem with Raheem when he was 10 or 11 years old. He just could not handle being tackled. He would get very emotional and there would be tears. It came to a head when we played against Dagenham and Redbridge and he was taking a few kicks. He left the pitch and came back with a handful of stones and before we knew it he was pelting the other side.

We were shocked but, talking to him, we discovered for the first time the story about his dad [Sterling’s father had been murdered in Jamaica]. We felt that by kicking him out we would be making him vulnerable to bad influences. Plus, he loved football so much. So we decided to ban him for four games and set him four pieces of homework. The first was to list the attributes of his perfect footballer. The second was to discuss why they were important. The third was to discuss how he measured up in those attributes, with marks out of 10. Finally, we talked about what he could do to improve.

When he came back, he was sensational. Brilliant on the pitch and never a moment’s trouble. And for those four games he missed, he came along and supported the team. We are so proud of what he has achieved. We use him as an example for our boys and girls.