Mikey Lewis: Building a future in the sport I love!
I strongly believe hard-work always beats talent! But what happens when you mix a little bit of both? Mikey Lewis, a product of West Hull’s youth system, is playing a commanding role at City Of Hull Academy (COHA). Still only 16 years old, Mikey is one of the youngest members at the Academy, however based on consistency alone I would assume the multi-skilled half-back is probably the first name on Jason Nethertons team-sheet.
It hasn’t always been this way for Mikey who was initially overshadowed by his peers.
I’ve been down to watch City Of Hull on a number of occasions and you can watch highlights of Mikey and his team in action at the end of this article.
Prior to my interview with Mikey, I also caught up with City of Hull Scholarship coach Matty Faulkner who also serves as the Academies talent identification coordinator. Here's what Matty had to say about Mikey's development at COHA.
"Every opportunity we have given Mikey he has grasped with two hands whether it was Development Squad training, being included in just the last few scholarship games or his debut away in France. Mikey is a great example to lads who don’t make it into scholarship straight away"
GRM Interview with Mikey Lewis
1. What is your favourite Super League team?
"My favourite Super League team is Hull F.C! I have grown up as a black and white! My favourite player has to be Albert Kelly,I love watching how he plays the sport and I compare my self to him and how he plays.
2. This is your first year with the Under-19's, how has the season gone so far, and what have you offered to the team since stepping up from scholarship?
" The season has started pretty well and we are really starting to click as a team, consistently picking up 2 points which will help us at the end of the season to get in the top four.
Recently, I have really brought on my game and the COHA coaches have contributed a lot to this improvement, a lot of work was done through pre-season. I think I bring a lot of talk into the game in attack and defence, My running game has also come on a lot! I now know the right times to run during a game!"
3. You were late joining the academy, why do you think this was the case?
" I think I was late of joining the Academy because of my attitude and my commitment to the sport. It reached a point where I realised I wanted a future in the sport I love, so I started to sort my body out and get it into shape for the game and when I started to get into shape and improving my game every week I got my chance at the academy.
4. You’ve definitely transformed into one of the best players, if not the best player at COHA. What work are you doing behind the scenes?
" I wouldn’t say I'm the best player at the academy because there are a lot of very good players here at COHA. We all have a our strengths and weakness but to be considered as one of the best players at the Academy is fantastic! Behind the scenes I have worked on a lot of things, but mainly my tackling as it wasn't one of my strongest attributes playing the game. I worked hard during pre-season and I would say tackling is now one of my strengths
5. Who has been your toughest opponent so far this season and why?
"The toughest opponent I have come up against this year is probably St. Helens and the reason for this is because the physicality of them and the speed they play at is really hard to defend against. They have a lot of very good players who know their roles and it’s really hard to defend!".
6. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from Jason Netherton?
" The best piece of advice I have received from Jason is to always make sure I caught the ball before running because you can’t do anything if you don’t catch the ball"
7. Who are you best mates with at the Academy?
"I have a lot of good mates in the team, Acko (Josh Atkinson) ,Bobby Downs and Patto, and I could name some more. My best mate is Acko, when I came into the team in October he helped me settle in really well. We went to the same school and you wouldn't believe we actually hated each-other back when we were at school, but everything changed when I come into the 19's, he is like a big brother to me and to play alongside someone like him is great!"
8. Who is always winding people up at the academy?
" There are a lot of people in the team who wind people up! I can't single-out someone in particular as we are all at it!
9. What’s your number 1 pre-match song!
" My go to pre-match song is probably world greatest by R.Kelly because it always get me up for the game the words in the song really help me mentally prepare for the 80 minutes ahead!
10. In 3 words. What is your goal this season?
" TO BE CONSISTENT".