It was one fine day at English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers’ Harlington training ground and an instructor kept yelling at young players.
One of the players was Nattanan ‘Nong Book’ Biesamrit, a 15-year-old defender from Thailand.
“I’m so tired but it’s fun and challenging,” Nattanan said during the halftime break.
“I have to work hard to grab chances to learn good tactics and techniques from other players.”
Nattanan was one of the four young Asian players who were selected to take part in training at QPR recently under the AirAsia QPR Coaching Clinic Tour.
Soo Sann Yin, corporate communications and assistant manager for sport and events for AirAsia, said it’s the airline’s policy to support sporting activities and events.
“We want to inspire people, particularly young ones, to play sports that promote physical and mental wellness. We also want to push young players to reach their potential,” he said.
The programme was aimed at encouraging players to hone their skills at QPR.
Nattanan 'Nong Book' Biesamrit, left, during training at Queens Park Rangers.
The search for players began last November as youth development coaches and instructors from QPR Academy, led by Mark Langton, visited many countries including Thailand, Malaysia and China to look for fine players.
In Thailand, at least 60 Thai players aged between 12 and 14 took part in the trial and the QPR coaches picked Nattanan.
“He did well at the trial,’’ said Langton.
“In the first three quarters, he played as a defender and did well. In the final quarter, he played as a midfielder and did quite well.”
"It’s an asset for a player to be able to play in several positions but he needs to specialise in a certain position so the coaches will know how to manage him."
Langton asked Nattanan to work hard on his skills, attempt to eradicate his weaknesses and to always show self-discipline during training.
“For him, just stick to these things and the sky is the limit,” Langton said.
The freezing weather in London during that time was a problem for Nattanan.
“I could barely run or pass the ball,’’ he said.
But nothing could beat his determination to become a good footballer.
Nattanan said he had learned how to keep himself warm in the cold weather.
The training at QPR was a memorable experience for the young Thai.
“It’s a once-in-the-life-time opportunity,” said Nattanan, a trainee at Thai Premier League club Chonburi.
During the training at QPR, Nattanan had to use his technique to beat the bigger English players.
“They are bigger and taller so it is a challenge for me to play against them,” he said.
Stephen McCarthy, football development manager at QPR, said young Asian players have good technique and are eager to learn.
He said size does not matter in football, citing Lionel Messi as an example.