By LeVaughn Flynn, Staff ReporterST. JAGO midfielder Mark Miller has the magic touch or more correctly the magic kick.
After the first round of the ISSA Pepsi/Sports Plus Manning Cup, Miller has scored 15 goals to lead the Manning Cup and has helped his team to boast an enviable 10-0 record.
Miller's goal tally is not only impressive because he has scored more goals than some teams. What is remarkable is what he has done so far in the position he plays.
"I'm what you would call a roamer. Some-times I'm in the middle and sometimes I'm up front; I have good football instincts," Miller explained.
The Gleaner found out that Miller's football prowess has been in the making for quite some time. He boasts of his five-month stint in 2000 with a junior side of popular English Premier League team Aston Villa. "I was playing for the Under-17 team while in England for two years. That is my most memorable experience for life. I'm always going to remember that," the 18-year-old stated.
Before travelling to England and then becoming the Manning Cup's leading goalscorer, Miller said he first kicked a ball at the age of five in a community called Lime Tree Grove, St. Catherine, where he still lives. He received his early education at St. Catherine Basic and Primary School and represented Braeton Football Club.
As he and his game matured, Miller said he began to idolise "the great No. 15, Ricardo 'Bibi' Gardener and (Brazilian) No. 9 Ronaldo."
Outside of football, Miller said he unwinds to reggae and rap music and plans to be an entrepreneur one day and even have his own clothing line.
Back on the football field, Miller said he plans to take his football career in strides by representing a local Under-21 club after leaving St. Jago and to work his way towards an overseas scholarship en route to his ultimate dream of representing Jamaica on the international scene.
However, before he fulfils all his dreams, Miller said he is focusing on the rest of the schoolboy football season.
His team tackles Excelsior this afternoon at the Ferdie Neita Park in the Walker Cup quarter-finals and continues its Manning Cup campaign on Tuesday against Mona.
He said that his team's success was no surprise.
"(The guys) are on a good level fitness-wise. We train hard and everything ... from in the summer we were training hard and camping out. As a matter of fact, we were training three times a day morning afternoon and in the evening. So because of that, it is showing in the Manning Cup now," he said.
