Was picked up by local academy side at 12, by the time I was 13 was playing u17's with them.
Was 5 10 by that point and a monster in the nets, was quite fearless. Had two trials with pro clubs lined up at 16, as well as an offer from an elite private prep school, when a Petr Cech-esque injury threatened my playing career (not quite as severe as his, no fractures, just hemoragging)
After 10 months out, I come back to play in a shitty u18 tournament just to get match sharpness and in the finals with bout 7 minutes to play, head to head collision with a player. He broke his nose, lost 4 teeth and cracked his eye socket. I was fortunate enough to only have his tooth stuck through my nose and my second serious concussion.
Haven't played a competitive match since.
With that in mind, you'd be smart to take the 3$ and snickers bar for me