Above: Dandenong North soccer star Alex Tabor trains at the Victorian Institute of Sport last week ahead of his trial with English Premier League club Newcastle United this week.By Paul Pickering
WHEN English Premier League powerhouse Newcastle United signed Alex Tabor to a week-long trial, the club was under no illusions about the Dandenong North teenager’s precocious talent.
After all, Tabor did score a hat-trick against the Magpies only last month.
On that day, the 16-year-old striker made the pitch his personal playground in the Victorian Institute of Sport’s (VIS) 6-0 whitewash – just hours before sitting his VCE Further Maths exam by correspondence.
Tabor went on to be the VIS’s leading goal-scorer in its October/November tour of the United Kingdom, catching the eye of scouts in games against youth teams from Middlesborough, Blackburn, Everton and Celtic.
Not surprisingly, Newcastle took a particular liking to what it saw, asking Tabor to revisit the hallowed turf of St James’ Park for a trial with the Magpies’ youth squad this week.
As Tabor prepared to fly out for England last week, he told the Star of his excitement at the prospect of meeting Magpies frontman and Socceroos skipper Mark Viduka.
“I’d ask him what advice he had on what I should do to get to the top level,” Tabor said.
The chance to pick the brains of one of his boyhood idols will provide a fitting end to an amazing year for Tabor.
On top of the successful UK tour, Tabor also finished his first season in the Football Federation Victoria under-21 competition as the VIS’s top goal-scorer.
He has also trained with Melbourne Victory throughout the year, and even managed to find the back of the net with a header in a Victory pre-season match against South Melbourne.
But Tabor’s own golden moment was that hat-trick.
“I suppose that’s what sparked the scouts’ interest, and I had to do my year 12 exam after scoring the hat-trick,” he said.
Tabor, who trialed with the Portsmouth and West Bromwich Albion youth academies in 2005, said one of the keys to his impressive performances this year had been a steely determination to reach the sport’s elite level.
“I just play my game, no matter who’s watching, and try to block everything out,” he said.
For his father Tom, it has been Tabor’s ability to juggle his sport and studies that has been most impressive.
“Any parent would be proud because he’s worked very hard,” Tom said.
“It’s been exciting, stressful and wonderful, but, of course, he’s had a hard time keeping focused.”
With another year of VCE studies ahead of him, Tabor will continue to encounter his share of distractions, but nothing seems likely to block this headstrong teenager’s intended path to the European big leagues.
