Soccer: Teenager wants out of father's shadow | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

He's just turned 17 but anyone who has seen Adam Chandler play will be hard-pushed to deny the rightback isn't talented.

Only last Sunday he signed a contract with the Hawke's Bay United Academy, thus earning the right to play for the academy's youth side this summer as well as train with the franchise's big boys and play if required.

However, there's something bugging the Cru Bar Maycenvale United Federation League player whose father, Matt Chandler, is the franchise team's head coach.

"I know a lot of people say I get into teams because my father is the coach so I just have to prove things," the Napier Boys' High School sixth-former tells SportToday.

"I've had that all my life because my dad's coached 80 per cent of the teams I've played for.

"I know I'm good enough to play and not because of my father."

That is not to say his father wasn't instrumental in shaping his future.

"There's high expectations when we train together but there's no doubt at all I wouldn't be anywhere without dad's help.

"He's been the biggest influence in my whole life and there's nothing more to say about it."

The Chandlers came to New Zealand in 2004 from Hampshire, England, where Adam Chandler played rightback until he was 11 years old.

When the family settled in Hamilton, the Cambridge Tigers team planted him in the centre-mid position because of his ability to distribute the ball with vision.

He was selected for the Fed Force 3 age-group team in 2006 and later that year his father moved down to Hawke's Bay to coach at Napier City Rovers Club.

"I was 14 years old and played centre-mid for three to four months but realised I didn't have the fitness of someone like say Tom Biss, so I went back to the rightback position," says Chandler, who also picks up skills from religiously watching the English Premier League on TV.

He hopes to play professional football. While the cutthroat English arena would be ideal, a dose of realism sees Chandler set attainable targets.

Playing in the transtasman A-League with the dream of representing the All Whites seems more practical.

However, he has more immediate matters to address such as helping Vale win today's first of a two-match play-off against Upper Hutt at Akina Park, Hastings.

"The team we have is outstanding and I really believe we can win so I'm backing the boys all the way," he says.

Will he stay with Vale if they don't make the cut?

"I want to keep playing for them so that's why we're playing hard to try to get to Central League.

"It'll be very hard to leave Maycenvale," says Chandler, who with Biss and winger Ryan Martin, was called to trail for the New Zealand under-20 squad against the Wellington Phoenix in July.

"We performed extremely well but we won't know if we're in until April," Chandler says of the national squad, which national officials have yet to name for the Oceania under-20 qualifying tournament, to make the cut for the under-20 World Cup to be held in Colombia later next year.