Young footballer and dad launch shin pad business

A young footballer turned entrepreneur used an injury lay-off to design a new kind of shin pad for him and his friends with help from his dad.

Ashton, from Cox Green, near Maidenhead, and dad Sam developed Tekx pads, which combine a football sock and shin pad after the 10-year-old suffered an arm injury playing for Brentford.

Sam said Ashton lost shin pads regularly and so they sought to combine the pad with a sock design that would be comfortable for regular use and that would not move in games or training.

Sought after by friends and teachers at his son's school, Sam was keen to teach Ashton that while sport is important, it is not the only thing he can succeed in.

"The main message I wanted to teach Ashton is that there's more to life than football. There are other things. You're not just Ashton the footballer," he said.

Ashton has played for Brentford for about 18 months and is being guided by his dad, a former assistant manager and first team coach at Maidenhead United.

"It's good - unexpected. I went on trial [at Brentford] and all the players were kind to me and all the managers were kind to me and then I got signed," Ashton said.

Of their small business, his dad said: "It's been a journey for both of us. It's nothing I have ever done before and I didn't know anything about trademarking, sales."

Sales are made through Instagram, Facebook and word of mouth, all done at the same time when Ashton – now having recovered from his injury – is spending up to seven hours a week playing football.

"From the second he finishes school, he's in the door, [a] quick snack, out the door, travelling and he's not back until late at night," Sam added.

"It's hard, it's really tricky but he lives for it, he loves it and we will support him on that journey."

Sam said: "When Ashton signed at Brentford I made a decision that it was my time to give to him and prioritise what he's doing so I stepped away completely from the game when he signed.

"If you gave me a choice of watching my own game or watch Ashton train or play it would be watching him train or play every day of the week."