Football: Rising star shines in 'keepy uppy' challange

Seven-year-old Grayson Lunman display his skills to former All Whites goalkeeper Mark Paston during the "keepy uppy" challenge at Te Papa in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell, New Zealand Herald

A 7-year-old football fanatic from Wellington took on a Kiwi sporting hero in a very special "keepy uppy" challenge this morning, in the lead up to the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

This morning's training session, at Te Papa in Wellington, comes after talented mini-footballer Grayson Lunman, was spotted showing off his ball skills at this year's Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon in Kilbirnie, by FIFA U-20 World Cup's Wellington marketing manager Sam Pearson.

"There were hundreds of kids... out of all those kids, I noticed one wee guy had his own ball and was pulling off some pretty cool tricks, and just showing some really good skills," Mr Pearson said.

"He was wearing his boots even though it wasn't a football event by any stretch, and so I had a little chat to him and he was obviously really excited about the FIFA under 20s, and just football in general.

"He is very talented... just how comfortable he was with the ball and that he was always dribbling a ball around."

Mr Pearson said he got his Grayson's mum's email address, in case there was a chance to get him involved in the tournament at some stage.

Today, 30 days out from the World Cup kick off, Grayson got to take part in a "keepy uppy" challenge with former All White goalkeeper and Wellington's ambassador for the upcoming World Cup, Mark Paston, and Wellington's deputy mayor Justin Lester.

"The keepy uppy challenge is a pretty interestingly titled little game, where you challenge someone to see who can do the most number of kicks without the ball touching the ground, and without using your hands," Mr Pearson said.

Mr Lester took out today's challenge, with an impressive 30 kicks, however Grayson's talent did not go un-noticed by Paston, who said it was rare to see a kid Grayson's age demonstrate similar skills.

"I was quite interested when I heard what it was about, a 7-year-old that could juggle a ball. [He has] got a few tricks in the locker.

"You can just tell he loves having a ball with him, that's what it's about. If you really love it that's when you do start really improving.

"He's definitely got a future in the game. Looks like he would be lost without a ball by his side."

Grayson lives and breathes football, and even takes his ball to bed with him at night.

"I started playing when I was three so I've been playing for about four years," Grayson said.

The talented tyke currently plays as a striker for the Brooklyn Northern United junior club, but says he learns all his best tricks from his hero, Cristiano Ronaldo.

"I usually just watch videos of my favourite soccer players. My favourite one is Cristiano Ronaldo."

Grayson said he "definitely" wanted to continue practicing his craft so he could eventually play professionally when he gets older.

After training with Paston today, Grayson said he would head back and teach his team his new moves.

The young boy, who practices for two-and-a-half hours each day, has tickets to all nine World Cup games being played in Wellington.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup kicks off in Auckland on Saturday March 30, when New Zealand take on Ukraine.