Zac Bowling was playing reserve grade for the Broadmeadow Magic six months ago. Now the promising goalkeeper has a shot at the No.1 spot at Victorian NPL club Altona Magic.
The 18-year-old signed a one year deal with Altona last week after a four-week trial period.
The move continued a whirlwind six months.
Bowling created headlines - and grabbed attention of Victorian clubs - with a man-of-the-match performance off the bench in Broadmeadow's 2-1 loss in extra-time to Bentleigh Greens in the Australia Cup round of 16.
Bowling replaced Ben McNamara, who suffered a leg injury, midway through the first half and went on to make 14 saves.
The the son of Jets goalkeeping coach Chris Bowling, Zac went on to make 11 appearances for the Broadmeadow first team, keeping five clean sheets.
The more experienced McNamara was recalled for the run to the finals.
Bowling had been training with the Jets and was planning to play for the youth team until the opportunity came up at Altona, who are coached by John Markoviski.
"It is a tough league, especially for a goalkeeper," Chris Bowling said. "It is a chance for Zac to test himself. The whole package was a good opportunity. It's a chance to grow up and learn how to live, as well as the football side. He is sharing a house with some other players. They have great facilities down there and he is spending a lot of time in the gym.
"He has really developed in the past two years at Broadmeadow under Damian Zane. This is the next step for him."
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