Choices: Jamie needs to make most of his

Two months ago the GFA's new high performance youth development director Steve Sharman made several high-profile mentor appointments for the island age-group teams.

His choice of Jamie Dodd for the under-18s raised a few eyebrows. But as sports editor Rob Batiste discovered, the GFC star is determined to make the most of the chances he has been given – not least by the courts.

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AT WEMBLEY in early May, Jamie Dodd could be running out in front of a five-figure crowd for the biggest football match of his career.

Yes, admittedly, the final of the FA Vase is still just a dream for Dodd and all Green Lions fans, but no longer a distant, ridiculous, one. Two more wins and hundreds of islanders, perhaps thousands, will be loading the planes and ferries and descending on the famous arena to see their heroes, among them the one they all call 'Doddy'.

Being a sporting hero was the last thing on the Dodd's mind when, just three years ago, he was nervously sitting inside the Magistrate's Court,

The threat of prison was a real one, the vibe around football grounds at the time, not least his home ground of Blanche Pierre Lane, being that 'Doddy's had it this time. He's going down.'