BRUCE Minaker described making his Kidderminster Harriers debut as a ‘dream come true’ after he featured from the bench against Worksop Town last month.
The 18-year-old made a late substitute appearance in Kidderminster’s 2-2 draw agaisnt Worksop at Aggborough having progressed through the club’s youth academy.
Minaker joined the club’s academy in 2018 and has been with Harriers since the age of 11-years-old.
And Kidderminster boss Adam Murray handed Minaker his first senior appearance for his boyhood club against Worksop.
Minaker has since featured in games against Bedford Town and Macclesfield.
And the teenager thanked Harriers boss Murray for trusting him enough to throw him into the first team fold.
Minaker said: “I started with Kidderminster as young as two really, because I started doing Mini Kickers down at the railway station with Nick [Griffiths], and then played with local teams growing up.
“I then ended up at Harriers at about 11-years-old and then I’ve been here ever since, staying with the academy, still coming to watch the games.
“Being able to grow up with the club, and it being a massive part of my life, it was a really proud moment to finally represent it.
“I feel trusted which is a big thing for me anyway as a player. Obviously we both know that I’m not the finished article.
“But I feel like him throwing me into that environment a little bit, and saying ‘just play how you usually play’, I feel like it’s done a lot for my confidence.
“It’s a really good environment for me to develop in.
“Growing up in Kidderminster, it’s a bit surreal now, seeing people I know, or have known, messaging me.
“I’m proud of where I’m from, and I’m proud of the fact that I’ve grown up with the club.
“Being able to represent it [Harriers] now, and going in there with the first team is just a dream come true for me.”
Bruce continues to combine his football schedule alongside his study as part of Kidderminster College’s Harriers Academy course.
He has also gone on to coach Harriers Foundation’s Mini Kickers, which has seen the striker become a figure for young children to look up to.
Many of the children he coaches attend games at Aggborough.
