Josh has been selected in a 16-strong Northern NSW Football Under 12 squad to compete in the annual Saitama Tournament, played in July at the home of one of Japan's biggest clubs, Uruwa Red Diamonds.

The young all-rounder keeps his mother busy all year travelling to school and district representative fixtures in cricket, athletics and touch footy. But it's the beautiful game where Josh's real ambition and talent lie.

For the past couple of seasons Josh has played a year above his age in the Mid North Coast representative team, including the past two junior state championships for boys.

From those state championships Josh was identified as a player of the future and has attended several centre of excellence camps in Armidale to be tutored by the region's most qualified coaches.

It was after an impressive four days this January in searing heat at the Armidale camp that Josh was selected for the Saitama Tournament.

To put his selection in perspective, Josh is the only player in the squad who is not a member of the Newcastle based Emerging Jets program, the elite squads which spearhead the Northern NSW elite football program and are aimed at producing young Socceroos.

Josh says he is excited by the prospect of playing a truly international tournament and testing himself against the best of his age group from countries including Japan, Mexico, China, the United States and Germany. We know he will play his heart out and represent the Mid North Coast with honour and pride.