Freddie Woodman is a man who knows exactly what he wants – and he is aiming to impress his godfather as he targets a rise through the international ranks.
The Newcastle United and England U17s goalkeeper has recently battled back from a nasty ankle injury that kept him sidelined for four months, and through studying psychology during his rehabilitation, he now has a clear goal of forcing his way into Gareth Southgate’s Under-21 squad in the not too distant future.
Woodman’s father Andy was a former player himself and he came through the ranks at Crystal Palace, forming a close-friendship with Southgate as the pair battled through from YTS to the first-team squad. So close in fact, Southgate was named Freddie’s godfather.
Freddie said: “It is true that Gareth is my godfather. I don’t see him that much now, but he and my Dad are still in touch and it would be great to eventually get picked by him for England Under-21s in the future.
England Under-21 Head coach Gareth Southgate
“I have my aims, and within the next three years I want to be in that squad, and it would certainly be interesting to be called-up by him.
“I set targets and tick them off once I have achieved them, it’s like a career ladder for me, and going through the ranks with England is one of my top aims.”
Father Andy went on to play for Northampton Town, Brentford, Peterborough United, Southend United, Colchester United, Oxford United and Stevenage in a career that spanned 17-years, and Freddie knows he is lucky to have such an experienced head to guide him.
“My Dad has given me a great advantage over other goalies,” he said. “He has been there and done it and he is always telling me what to do and not to do. He’ll tell me where he went wrong and I can talk to him about anything.
“To be able to have someone with his experience so close to me is vital. When he was a player I think he feels that he made mistakes and he could have played at a higher level, and he is brilliant at helping me avoid making mistakes he felt he made. He doesn’t want me to finish my career and have regrets and I strive to do him proud.”
It has not been plain sailing for Woodman over the past year, he has recently just battled back from an ankle injury, but his time out allowed him to begin studying the mental side of the game.
Woodman explains: “I tore three ligaments on the inside of my ankle and two on the outside.
“I went for a cross and fell awkwardly, and I knew straight away I’d hurt myself.
“The four months out was a really hard time for me, not only the injury but missing the European Championship qualifiers with England in Armenia.
“My first thoughts were ‘I’m going to miss the Euros’, and it was really tough seeing the lads go out there and not being a part of that.
“It was the first squad that I hadn’t been a part of, and I decided then to just fully focus on getting back fit and stronger.”
“I’d love to be able to help others in the future who are at my age now.”
Freddie Woodman England U17s
Woodman continues: “The day after I got injured I was due to meet with Steve Black, who has worked with big names like Johnny Wilkinson. I met and spoke with him for hours and he has helped me massively psychologically.
“You can train your body, but I wanted to train my mind as I believe that is a massive part of the game now. If you can get any advantage on your opponents then I want it and that’s how I started.
“It has been about six months I have worked with him now, and I’ve been doing a lot of reading, and it has been really enjoyable.
“I wasn’t really into school to be honest. With my Dad being a footballer from a young age I knew what I wanted to be. But since I met Blacky and I’ve been reading about psychology it is definitely something that I want to continue to study and I’d love to be able to help others in the future who are at my age now.”
Woodman will be looking to complete his return to the Three Lions when England U17s take on Holland on Wednesday afternoon, kick-off 4pm.
The shotstopper added: “We have a brilliant squad here and we have a massive chance to do well at the Euros if we can secure qualification next month.
“Some of the individuals in the team are unbelievable and we all want the same thing – to do as best we can for our country- starting with Holland.”