Owen Locke

Owen Locke's Outstanding Rise in Education and Football

- By Darren Wiltshire
A wonderful case study feature of a local player that has excelled in Futsal and education.

Owen Locke joined Haringey 6th Form College in September 2018 to take his Entry and Foundation course - from there his rise has been exponential. 

His wonderful work ethic has seen him progress from that course to a BTEC in public services while simultaneously progressing in Futsal.

Owen first showed talent and promise as a futsal goalkeeper during one of Haringey 6's Inclusive Friday Futsal sessions, and was soon representing the college in both the College League and also the National Futsal League and FA Cup. Haringey 6th Form is the only college in England to have a team playing in senior Futsal at this level - all at the age of 16. 

Owen's very impressive performances at national league level saw him given the opportunity train with one of the best clubs in the country. As part of an agreement that saw Sussex Futsal Club train at Haringey 6th Form, Owen trained alongside players such as Australian international Tobias Seeto and Doug Reed, capped 100 times by England. 

Owen capped off his 2018/19 season by being presented the Haringey 6 Sports Club Player of the Year Award by England football legend John Barnes. 

His performances have carried into the 2019/20 season with Owen emerging as one of the most highly rated young Futsal goalkeepers in London, with his game progressing to the extent that he has added goals to his repertoire, scoring a memorable long-range strike against Newham in the National League. Everyone involved with Haringey 6 Sports Club has been thoroughly impressed by how hard Owen has worked to develop the skill set required to become such a highly rated Futsal goalkeeper in little over a year.

Owen was integral as the club picked up its first piece of silverware in the West Ham United Foundation invitational Tournament.

Owen Locke

Soon after, his performance against the University of East London alerted Genesis Futsal Club to his talent. Owen now trains with the Championship club alongside players of the calibre of Claudio Ribeiro and Ivan Dju. Owen combines the above with training and playing for London Metro FC, who are one of the leading teams in the National Partially Sighted League. 

Owen Locke

Alongside his achievements as a player, Owen completed his Level 7 in Futsal Refereeing and has officiated with authority in the London FA Under-16 league, that is hosted at Haringey 6th Form and welcomes some leading teams such as ProFutsal and Oxford City.

Owen has also returned to football this season, becoming a standout performer for the college football team in the Wednesday College League and in senior football for Haringey 6 Sports at weekends - he particularly excels in one-on-one situations. 

He has also found the time to take his FA Level 1 in football coaching, completing the course on Tottenham Hotspur's Passion 4 Coaching program that gives aspiring young coaches a wonderful opportunity to progress within the game. 

Owen has made outstanding progress in his 18 months with the program, and we all look forward to seeing him continue to progress on and off the court.

Owen Locke

“Owen has become a fantastic addition to London Metro Futsal Club, attending pretty much all training sessions since first attending in November 2019. Owen brings with him a tremendous amount of energy and commitment, a willingness to learn and helps to build team spirit. Owen is an excellent Futsal keeper, he brings lots of playing experience for such a young man, he now continues to learn through playing in goal for London Metro FC who take part in the National Partially Sighted Futsal League. Through playing with London Metro FC Owen has played alongside England international Futsal players. Owen continues to learn and progress, playing in goal for London Metro FC has helped Owen with his on-court communication as well as giving Owen the opportunity to share his knowledge and experience with his teammates. We are delighted to have Owen playing for London Metro FC and look forward to developing our team with Owen playing a big part in our future success.” 
 - Gareth Jones, Player and Coach of London Metro Futsal Club

"Owen's development as a Futsal player is testament in equal measure to his immense natural talent and an insatiable desire to learn. Despite being one of the younger members of the team, Owen has shown himself to be a leader and has contributed vastly to the growth of the club."
 - Marcus Foley, Coach, Haringey 6 Sports Club

"From day one at the college Owen has been exceptional. Most importantly he is working hard to progress in his education.  I am personally really impressed with the way he has improved in Futsal, whilst simultaneously performing well in football as it can be a challenge. On Wednesdays for example, he trains before college, he plays football for the college in the afternoon and then trains in the evening with London Metro. Owen is determined to keep pushing onto the next stage with his Futsal, and his distribution with both hands and feet is an example of that. His consistency in saving 1v1s in both futsal and football is phenomenal. Mainly it has been good to see Owen gain confidence in himself, and that is demonstrated by him having had the confidence to go and train with such good players at London Metro and Genesis. Thanks to both of the clubs for giving Owen the opportunity. He has only been playing Futsal for 18 months, so we are all hopeful that at some stage the England Youth teams give him a chance to show what he can do.”
 - Darren Wiltshire, Manager, Haringey 6 Sports Club