Soccer: Aden Hall played a crucial role in OVA's grand final win and eyes a future in the sport

Although the Tamworth resident and OVA Mushies forward aspires to play professional soccer, he is aware the odds are stacked against him. But that does not faze the youngster.

"I just want to have a profession where I can play the sport I love," Hall said.

"Either I want to be able to give back or help promote the sport."

As he comes to the end of his HSC, Hall has thought about other career paths to pursue if professional soccer doesn't pan out.

Unsurprisingly, he wants to remain involved in the sport. Surprisingly, his chosen field of interest is sports psychology.

Hall's interest in the mentality of high-level athletes stems from his own experience earlier this year, during a period in which the teenager showed remarkable self-awareness in the midst of a dip in confidence.

"Midway through the season, I dropped back down to reserve grade from firsts," Hall said.

"I took it upon myself to drop back down because I wasn't feeling as confident as I normally was. So I had a talk with Tim [Coates, OVA coach], and we dropped me back down to reserve grade.

"I wasn't coming back up until I earned my spot."

"Full credit", Coates said, must go to the teenager for his willingness to reassess his position in the team and do the work that needed doing.

After spending some weeks in reserve grade to acclimate to a new role on the field and recover from some niggling injuries, Hall returned to the first grade ranks and quickly became one of OVA's most important players in their run to a third consecutive premiership.

"He got his head right, the boys got around him, and in the last three games he's been one of our better players," Coates said.

"Him, Riley Russell, and Sam Higgins have probably been the mainstays through those last three games doing different jobs for the team."

Following his own conflicts this year, Hall hopes to be able to help other athletes suffering in the same way.

"There's a lot of people who go through situations where they don't have anyone to talk to about their problems," he said.

"Say they make a mistake and everyone hates them for it, it messes them up mentally and there's not many places someone can go and have someone that can relate to them.

"I want to help people with sport in any way I can."

Having collected his first senior premiership on Saturday night with the Mushies, Hall is at an all-time high in confidence and hopes to return to Newcastle in 2023 to pursue his dream of playing professional football.

With his "mindset and dedication", Coates believes he has a shot. But, ultimately, the OVA coach said "it really is down to him".

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