At only 16 years-old, John Penyas is already being touted a future star of New Zealand futsal.
After standout performances for his team at the national secondary schools tournament earlier this year – where he picked up the most valuable player award – the St Paul’s Collegiate student caught the attention of national men’s coach Scott Gilligan, who invited Penyas to a trial for the Futsal Whites.
Penyas initially made the squad for a recent series against Australia but was unable to play due to a ruling by the game’s governing body, Fifa, that he was too young to play.
Despite that disappointment, the experience was still a memorable one for Penyas.
"It feels good [to be selected].
"There’s another guy that’s done the same in this school and it’s pretty cool," Penyas said about his callup.
"It’s a great experience playing with older people."
A midfielder in the more traditional form of the game, Penyas believes there are plenty of things to enjoy about futsal and it benefited his game and even helped when he made the transition to the outdoor version.
"It’s just a change from football and it’s making me a better [player].
"When I go back out into football, it’s making me better.
"I like [futsal] because it’s fun as well; because you always have the ball a lot more than football."
Penyas remains on standby for the Futsal Whites when team visits events around the country to promote futsal.
He has ambitions of reaching further heights in both versions of the sport.
The year 12 student, who admires Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, is motivated to keep his place in the national side and is hopeful he can earn a scholarship to the United States although he also wants to play for Waibop United in the near future.
"I'll probably just try and keep going and stay in the squad seeing as I can't play in any international games," he said.
"I'll stay and train with them and try to get my football [career] as far I can with that.
"Hopefully that will get me to a university over in America in futsal and football."
