Boy with a goal | Auckland Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Auckland

A Waitakere Primary soccer star has a game plan: get to Thailand to compete, writes Rowena Orejana.

Bayley Foster takes off his black jacket to show his red Wynton Rufer Elite jersey, autographed by Mr Rufer himself.

Bayley is getting ready for a photoshoot. "Don't make me look too bad," his coach Peter Moxham calls out in a mock warning.   Bayley grins. Irrepressibly.

At 11, he has mapped out his life: he will be a famous soccer player, just like Shane Smeltz.

Bayley is one of two Waitakere Primary pupils who will compete in Thailand in the Wynrs U11 Elite Academy team. They leave on September 26 for a 10-day competition and sightseeing tour. With the school's help, he and his mate, Liam Milne, are raising money for the trip.

"I reckon we will raise enough," he says.  Bayley is a striker who is straightforward about his abilities. "I'm good," he says, "because I'm doing a lot of training."

His parents, Grant and Pauline Foster, had baulked at the cost of the trip. Bayley, after all, is one of eight children. His sister, Mollie, has a terminal condition called Edward's Syndrome. Despite all the things going on in their lives, his parents decided he shouldn't miss his chance.

"You just can't turn down an opportunity. You have to give it all you can and everybody's rallied around," says Mrs Foster.

Just driving to and from trainings of the younger boys and between Mollie's medical appointments takes a lot of effort and planning. "It's quite good that we have older kids who can drive. We can go to training at nights with Bayley or to basketball with our other little guy," says Mrs Foster.

Their efforts are repaid in spades by Bayley's focus and determination.

"We could play a game on Saturday and, after the game, he would still want to play another," says Mr Foster.

Coach Moxham says Bayley is an above average player. "He's got a really, really good attitude towards wanting to improve. His technical ability has improved a lot this year."

"He is very self-driven," says the boy's mum. "We don't need to tell him anything. He pressures himself. He doesn't want to fail."

Outside the soccer field, Bayley is the first to offer help, whether digging a drain or tidying the pantry. "He is loving and kind, though at times, an annoying brother," she adds.

Determined as Bayley is to succeed, his parents are equally determined to take the opportunities offered him.

They took the boys to Wellington to see the All Whites play Bahrain.

"We slept at the side of the road in the van. So the boys were part of the 35,000 who saw that. It's something they'll always remember." 

Cup Thai 

Wynrs U11 Elite Academy team: Todd Broadhurst, Joshua and Samuel Hewetson, Max Wilson, Liam Milne, Tom Trevelyan, Amanpreet Bains, Bayley Foster, Calae Hignett-Morgan, Harry Sussock and Joshua Mullan.