Being offered a contract at a full-time football club is the ambition many young boys have, including Gary Williamson, but when that moment arrived he turned it down in favour of chasing another dream.

By this summer, Gary had spent a total of four years with home-town team, Darlington Football Club, including the last as a professional, and along with two other young players, he was offered a further three months.

Goalkeeper Keith Finch and centre-back Graham Liddle both accepted, but Gary, who attended Darlington's Longfield School, made the brave decision to look ahead to a new opportunity.

In a months time he begins a two-year football scholarship in the United States at Yavapai College, Phoenix, Arizona.

The scholarship is similar to a degree in that it means Gary will be studying daily, but he'll also be playing football every day, and because he was requested to attend the college by one its coaches, he doesn't have to pay a penny in tuition fees or accommodation.

Students who've applied for a place at the college are required to pay their own way.

Father, Jeff, is delighted with his son, who will be the only European on the scholarship.

"You've got to be exceptional at your sport, not many people get selected to go on these scholarships from outside the US."

"He always had this dream of making it out there in the US, and to do it this way, playing football, is amazing," said Jeff.

In two years' time, when Gary completes the football scholarship, he will have the opportunity to continue his education in another field, such as law enforcement, or he may be picked up by one of the professional clubs in the US, while a career with a full-time club in England remains a possibility.