Early Years
Shearer was born in Gosforth, Newcastle in 1970 to working-class parents Alan and Anne Shearer. His father, a sheet-metal worker, encouraged a keen Shearer to play football in his youth, and the young player continued with the sport as he progressed through school. He was educated at Gosforth Central Middle School and Gosforth High School. Growing up playing on the streets of his hometown, he originally played in midfield because "it meant could get more involved in the games." Shearer captained his school team and helped a Newcastle City Schools team win a seven-a-side tournament at St James' Park, before joining the amateur Wallsend Boys Club as a teenager. It was while playing for the Wallsend club that he was spotted by Southampton's scout, Jack Hixon, which resulted in Shearer spending his summers training with the club's youth team, a time he would later refer to as "the making of me". Shearer had successful trials for First Division clubs West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City and Newcastle United, before being offered a youth contract with Southampton in April 1986.
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Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)