Football Focus: Nat Phillips

Nat’s favourite subjects at School were Maths (he enjoys problem-solving) and Geography – thanks to Mr Jackson he still looks at places he visits through a geographer’s eye to consider why they appear as they do! He enjoyed English lessons with Mr Shewan (Boys’ Division Staff, 1980-2010) – the class never knew what to expect! – and he also studied German to GCSE which stood him in good stead during his year on loan to VfB Stuttgart. Of course sport was very important and Nat has fond memories of representing Bolton School in Year 8 to win the ISFA final and reaching the final again in Year 11. It was always Nat’s aim to pursue a career in football and, thanks to the understanding of Bolton School, he was able to realise his ambitions while studying for his GCSEs and A Levels. He notes that Mr Chilton (Sport) and Miss Tunstall (Head of Year) in particular were very understanding and went the extra mile to ensure that his studies were able to progress alongside his training. Whilst studying for his A Levels, Nat was at Bolton Wanderers Academy. At that time, the Club was struggling so Nat decided he needed a backup plan: he secured a scholarship at the University of North Carolina. However, a couple of weeks before he was due to start he was invited for trials at Liverpool FC … and signed a twoyear contract with the Club the day before his planned flight to America. He played for the U23s at Liverpool before progressing to the first team, then spent a year on loan in Germany. The biggest challenges to Nat’s career so far have been injuries. He has suffered back and ankle problems, spending several months recovering. Those were frustrating times as he feared for his career while at the same time needing to stay motivated. Asked about his greatest achievement to date, Nat cited his performance last season. At the start of the season he had a transfer lined up which fell through in the last minute, but he then went on to play for the team which had just won the Premier League. It was a tough season, but with ten games remaining the team won eight and drew two, thus qualifying for the Champions League. Nat played in the majority of games and is proud of his contribution. He is also proud of his contribution at VfB Stuttgart, helping the club get promoted from the second division to the Bundesliga. There will be many boys currently playing in the School’s football teams who aspire to be professional players. Nat’s advice to them is to dedicate themselves to the game and to strive always to give 100%. He recalls that during his time at School a number of boys played for academies; by his own admission, some of them were better players than he was, but he succeeded because of his dedication to the game – he Nat was proud to represent School worked hard, both on the field and in the classroom, and sacrificed his social life to achieve his dream. He also recommends a backup plan! Nat recently contributed to the School’s SPACE programme in which Year 7 boys enjoyed discussing the similarities between how a premier league footballer prepares for games and how they should prepare for tests and exams. Bolton School played an important role in Nat’s success. Aside from the outstanding sporting facilities (on Open Morning the only thing Nat wanted to look at was the Levels!) and the excellent standard of sport, the teaching and pastoral staff were incredibly supportive: arranging his Liverpool’s Player of the Month, March 2021 timetable to accommodate his training, helping him to catch up on missed lessons during lunchtimes and liaising with his parents to ensure that he was able to devote himself to his training secure in the knowledge that he had academic achievements to fall back on if necessary. During this great summer of sport, Nat had to be asked about England’s performance in the Euros … he watched many of the matches with a group of Old Boys and Old Girls with whom he remains in close touch and he was very impressed with the team, both the way they played and the way they united the country – not surprisingly, he has ambitions to play at international level himself. Of course, there are many Old Boltonians playing many sports at many levels. The Old Boys’ Association has its own football team – Old Boltonians AFC – and its own Golf Society – The Old Boltonians Golf Society – and new members are very welcome at each. Please contact the Nat celebrates scoring against Development Office for Burnley details of how to join.