Rico Lewis: My Grassroots Story

I used to spend a lot of time at my dad's gym – Pheonix – and it was then that I started kicking a football around.

He got me into a club called Little Kickers, where young people go and play, aged four or five. Then I just carried on, eventually joining a grassroots team called Prestwich Pythons, aged six.

But it was another part of life in the gym that has been a big help in my football career. I was doing Muay Thai a lot when I was growing up and I think that helped me with my agility and my balance, which is really important to the way I play. I love sports in general but I used to combine the two all the time until I had to pick football when I was about nine or 10.

I'm smaller than most players around me and I think doing the Muay Thai helped me develop a mentality where I knew I could hold my own. I'm fouled a lot and sometimes I'm targeted because I'm smaller but in my head I take it as a compliment, which might be due to the discipline I've learned. I don't react to things in negative ways.

It's still something I enjoy doing now. I think it's even more disciplined than football and you can also take the same values into football. You train as if you're playing a game. I'm lucky I was in the gym as a young kid and I was always there while my dad was teaching it.

I got scouted by Bolton at Under-8s level but at the same time I was scouted by Manchester City. I signed there and I've been there ever since – but I kept training with Prestwich at the same time because obviously I wasn't under contract at that age.

At Under-11s the City squad gets cut in half because they make a decision about which players they want to put in the school they are associated with, St Bede's. I was lucky enough to make the cut. We used to leave school early to train and everything was in place.

I remember being at City and seeing players like Phil Foden, who was an example of how it's possible to break through. He had a similar background to me and you see him join the first team when he was around 17. The manager would talk about how good he was all the time and as younger players it gave us a massive incentive and belief that there is a way through.

Now I always try to have a smile on my face. I love playing but I always want to win. The competitive edge and being happy to be out there competing is something I've always felt and still do.