It is a special moment for any dad — the first time you throw a ball to your toddler and he manages to catch it.
But for Charles Hart it was a bit different. His little boy Joe was just two years old and stood 30 feet away, across the garden of their house on the edge of Shrewsbury.
Joe not only held on to the tennis ball, but threw it right back.
It was the day an England goalkeeper was created. ‘I just gasped. I knew then he was going to be exceptional,’ says Charles.
‘I was trained as a PE teacher and worked in the fitness industry so I knew something about kids and sporting development, and that was just unreal.
‘Most small children can’t catch at even a short distance, they haven’t got the motor skills or the physical strength.
‘That’s why I can still remember that day. We just moved further and further apart, playing throw and catch. For some reason he has always just had natural strength and eye-hand co-ordination. It all came together.
‘There is sporting blood in both sides of the family. Myself and Joe’s uncles played rugby but he is just different again. He seems to be blessed with everything.’
If that day in the Harts’ garden was a defining point in Joe’s career, there would be plenty more.
Ball game: Joe Hart was forced to chose between football and cricket
The only question after that was not whether Joe would excel, but at which sport. It wasn’t going to be rugby.
‘That was one of those typical father and son things,’ Charles says with a laugh.
‘Because I played it, he didn’t want to.
‘From an early age Joe decided to be a goalkeeper. He liked getting muddy and throwing himself about, and the furniture at home will pay testament to that, so he became a goalkeeper.
‘We had two sinks, and one was always full of his messy football gear so my wife, Louise, could get it clean enough to go into the washing machine without ruining it!’
There was cricket gear to clean, too. If Hart hadn’t been earning his first competitive cap against Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday, he could just as easily have been preparing for an Ashes series.
The next big moment was with Shrewsbury Cricket Club as they followed up winning the Under 13 national title by taking the Under 15 one, too.
Hart’s figures of three for 19 and 34 not out tell only half the story. The eyes of club chairman Andy Barnard light up at the memory.
‘For a small club like ours to achieve that, you knew we had talent, but Joe was exceptional in the way he played, but there was also something about him.
'He was a winner.
‘I saw it most at the Under 15 final. We were at Shenley playing a team from Cardiff. He bowled so quickly and aggressively.
Aiming high: Hart (back left) towers over his cricket team-mates at primary school
'I’m not saying he won the game single-handedly, but his presence, the aura he gave off to the other boys, the feeling of him playing was enough for us to win the game.
‘I watched what happened at Wembley, his first major England game, and he was not fazed by it at all. He just loved the opportunity. That’s what he was like then.’
Cricket might have wrecked his sports career, though. ‘He had bad back problems growing up and he had this terrible bowling action that was going to hurt him more.
‘We had him running through corridors, and the club coach invented big panels of wood for him to get sideways on. His front leg splayed, which gives stress fractures, but they sorted that out and he has no back problems now.
‘He’s wonderful. When he comes here now he just likes to sit down with the guys.
'He’s not in any way affected by his fame and fortune.’
Joe turned down the chance to join Worcestershire’s cricket staff and plumped instead for a YTS scheme at Shrewsbury. The next big moments weren’t too far away.
Gary Peters was the manager who flung Hart in at the deep end and Peters recalls: ‘The club had been bottom of the league and I wasn’t sure if I wanted the job.
‘I went to watch the reserves in the afternoon before I went back and gave a decision. I just saw this big kid in goal, couldn’t believe it when they told me he was only 17, and thought, “I just have to manage him”.
‘The first-team goalkeeper was a 33-year-old called Scott Howie who had been player of the year when they got promoted from the Conference the season before.
'But at the dangerous end of the season, when we had to win to make sure we stayed up, I put Joe in.
‘The supporters thought I was mental, even the board wondered if I was stupid. The chairman said to me, “I know he’s going to be a great player one day, but does it have to be this day?”
‘But, to be honest, the kid kept us up. We won 3-0 that day, and he commanded the box, took everything.
'When I said, “I’m putting you in”, he couldn’t wait. If anything, that cockiness is what makes him, except it’s in a good way. He’s not a bit arrogant.
‘Somebody asked me before the World Cup if England should put him in. Yes, definitely. If Fabio Capello had put him in, we’d have done better.
‘I told David Moyes, who had been my assistant when I worked at Preston, about him and he sent Chris Woods to have a look. Before long just about every Premier League club was at every game.’
It was Manchester City who bought him. Tim Flowers was their goalkeeping coach, and says: ‘When I first saw him train I said to him, “You will win 100 caps”.
'He laughed, but I’m even more sure now. I saw him a couple of weeks ago and he’s filled out and is so imposing. I’m 6ft 2in and he made me feel like a jockey!’
Birmingham goalkeeping coach Dave Watson picked up Hart when City stopped trusting youth for a while and gave his place to Shay Given.
Watson says: ‘He’d been knocked down the pecking order and it was just what he needed to come and play. He bought into the whole environment and it got the best from him.
‘Goalkeeper is an isolated position, especially when things aren’t going well, and you have to know that whatever happens you will get support. Once he got that there were times in training he’d be unbeatable.
'When he takes that into a game, he’s at a different level.’
Players could quit due to pressure - Milner
James Milner fears some England stars may eventually quit the international scene completely due to the intense focus on their private life.
Wayne Rooney is the latest big name to be hit by lurid allegations over his private life, the latest in a miserable line that includes John Terry, Ashley Cole and Peter Crouch this year alone.
Such is the fascination with stories of this nature, it seems unlikely the quest for information will lessen any time soon.
And, while Milner is happy to live his life in the spotlight, he would understand if others did not think the same way.
"Every individual is different," reflected Milner.
"I would rather be under pressure because it means that things are going in the right direction on the football field.
"But some people might turn round and say, 'I have had enough, I don't need that'.
"Obviously thousands of people come every week and there are kids with your name on the back of their shirt.
"They obviously look up to you so you try to set standards on and off the field.
"We are very privileged to be representing this country and whatever job you do there will be things you like and things you don't."
Although there was some speculation that Rooney would return home to try to patch up his relationship with wife Coleen, it now seems certain Rooney will travel to Basel on Monday morning ahead of Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland.
Football Association officials have insisted it is "business as usual" regarding the 24-year-old, who showed sure signs of a return to top form against Bulgaria on Friday, claiming three assists after having a hand in England's first goal in a fine 4-0 win.
Despite going 11 internationals since he last found the net for his country, Rooney remains a key figure.
And Milner has no doubt Rooney is capable of ending that barren run in style.
"I am a player, but I am a fan as well - I want the best possible team out there for England," he said.
"He showed what a player he is on Friday. Hopefully he can go out and get a hat-trick on Tuesday."
Quite aside from his ability, Roney's willingness to work is appreciated by his team-mates, with Milner quick to pay tribute to the Manchester United man's contribution against Bulgaria.
"He was brilliant on Friday," he said.
"He brought players into the game and made a lot of goals.
"It is very hard to score the number of goals he has and be as unselfish as well."
Rooney may have his problems just now but to Milner he remains a model to aspire to.
Born in the same school year, Milner's career has tended to be overshadowed by the Liverpudlian, even though he was the one who played in the Premier League for Leeds at a slightly younger age.
"He shone through," said Milner.
"He rose so quickly and took all the spotlight with wonderkid status.
"He was one of the brightest prospects in the world and over the past few years he has proved it.
"Maybe it did deflect from me but he set the standards. If you want to be the best player, you need to match what he has done and exceed it if possible.
"These are the targets you have to aim for."
Amid the account of his alleged dalliance was another reference to Rooney's fondness for cigarettes.
Although a crafty fag is not unheard of, particularly on the continent, it still seems a rather strange habit for a professional sportsman to have.
Certainly Milner is unlikely to empathise given he is completely tee-total.
"I would never do anything to affect my football, even if it was playing golf too close to a game or something like that," he said.
"Football always comes first with me.
"I just decided not to drink when I was growing up.
"There is nothing wrong with it. There is a time and a place for everything.
"I just felt it was something I never really needed or wanted to do.
"If it could help me as a footballer I would do it."
Manchester City Midfielder Adam Johnson Hoping To Break Into Starting Line-Up For England
Adam Johnson reckons he needs to "make up for lost time" by becoming a regular starter for England.
The 23-year-old's career has catapulted since his switch from Middlesbrough to Manchester City, as his performances for the Eastlands club have earned him a place in the Three Lions squad.
The winger also scored his first international goal recently, in a 4-0 victory over Bulgaria on Friday night.
Johnson's career has been on a steep upward curve in the past year, as he was still playing in the Championship this time last season.
"Was it a year? It feels like ages ago, from then to now," Johnson told reporters. "It has been absolutely brilliant for me. It has happened overnight. I always believed in myself that I could do it but at Middlesbrough it was hard.
"People thought I should be in the team but I had Stewart Downing in front of me. I sometimes thought I should have left earlier as I did not get a chance. I feel I am now making up for lost time.
"It was a massive moment for me to score a goal in my first competitive game. My aim is to play as many games as I can and hopefully break my way into the starting XI."
The Three Lions midfielder concedes that he felt shattered to have been omitted from the final 23-man squad that travelled to the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
"I thought I was playing reasonably well," he said. "Maybe it came too soon, but I didn’t see that way at the time.
"I just got a phone call from [assistant manager] Franco Baldini saying: ‘sorry you did really well but you are not in the squad, so enjoy your holidays.’ It was pretty sharp. He said to just come back because he would see me in squads in the future.
"If you had said to me when I was playing in the Championship in January that I would be in the 30 for the World Cup squad I probably would have taken that."
The winger's versatile nature - in that he can play on either flank - comes as an added bonus for England boss Fabio Capello, and Johnson added: "I think if you look at the world class wingers then they all play on the opposite side. Robben and Messi and people like that. They go in towards goal rather than away from goal.
"I think that’s probably the game these days. Football’s changing. There’s a lot of clever link up play, people coming inside on their stronger feet.
"I would probably say that I’ve played my best football on the right but at the end of the day I grew up on the left, played there from a young age.
"I think playing with top-class players at City brings you on. Watching people like Carlos Tevez in training brings you on. Watching the things that they do.
"Maybe I am creating more goals but you get more chances as you are attacking more. When I was at Middlesbrough, it was obviously harder as we had more players behind the ball. Now, I have more freedom."
WAG OF THE DAY
http://www.boxofficefootball.com/orlait ... -the-week/
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Arsenal are contemplating a move for Barcelona's 18-year-old defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu. IM Scouting
Italian side Cagliari have hinted they would be willing to offload Federico Marchetti in January, with Manchester City and Chelsea the latest clubs to be linked with the 27-year-old goalkeeper's signature. IM Scouting
Hull manager Nigel Pearson wants to raid former club Leicester for striker Matty Fryatt and swap him for Tigers centre-back Kamil Zayatte. Daily Mirror
Derby are set to sign West Bromwich Albion striker Chris Wood on loan. The 18-year-old played in all of New Zealand's matches at the 2010 World Cup finals. Daily Mirror
Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan is eyeing Bournemouth captain Jason Pearce, with a view to signing the centre-back to improve Boro's stuttering start to the season. Daily Mirror
OTHER BOLLOX
Wayne Rooney could miss the Euro 2012 qualifier in Switzerland on Tuesday after England manager Fabio Capello held crisis talks with the striker. Capello is worried about Rooney's mental state following allegations about the Manchester United player's private life. Daily Mirror
Gerard Houllier will decide on Monday if he wants the job as Aston Villa manager. The 63-year-old, who is the current technical director for France, won five trophies as Liverpool manager in 2001. the Sun
Houllier will consider reuniting with his former number two at Liverpool Phil Thompson when he completes his return to English football at Aston Villa.Daily Express
Netherlands winger Arjen Robben says Tottenham are finally as good as north London rivals Arsenal, having signed his Dutch team-mate Rafael van der Vaart. Bayern Munich player Robben says Spurs have bridged the gap by signing the 27-year-old from Real Madrid. Daily Mirror
England's 1966 World Cup-winning keeper Gordon Banks says Joe Hart has the potential to be the national team's stopper "for the next 20 years". Daily Express
Queens Park Rangers boss Neil Warnock says Phil Jagielka is good enough to be an England regular. The Everton defender played for Warnock at Sheffield United and was praised for his role in England's 4-0 victory in the Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria on Friday. talkSport
England have received a boost before their Euro 2012 qualifier in Switzerland on Tuesday, with their opponents' keeper, Diego Benaglio, away on paternity leave. The 26-year-old has been described by Switzerland boss Ottmar Hitzfeld as "fantastic" and has attracted the attention of Manchester United.Daily Mirror
more bollox soon ...
