Raise Your Game: Why football?

Jack Collison: I think football's in the family. My Dad used to take me down the park when I was two or three-years-old on the back of his bike. I've always had the game around me so it was the obvious choice.

RYG: What has football given you?

JC: Being involved with football opens a lot of doors. From a young age I've travelled all over Europe and the rest of the world. You get opportunities like that from football.

RYG: What sort of sacrifices have you had to make to get you where you are today?

JC: All footballers have made sacrifices to get where they are. From a young age I was travelling up to Peterborough on a Friday evening, staying there for the weekend and coming back on Mondays for school. While my friends were on nights out I was playing football. As you get older that's even more important. You're friends are going out drinking and, being a professional athlete, you can't afford to do that if you want to get to the top.

RYG: What have been the highlights of your career so far?

JC: I'm still quite young but I've had quite a few highlights so far. My international debut against Iceland was special. Scoring my first goal for the Under 21's against Bosnia, and making my debut for West Ham. There have been a few highlights and I'm hoping there'll be a lot more.

RYG: What advice would you give to someone looking to follow in your footsteps?

JC: I don't think you can get anywhere without hard work. You've got to be prepared to put in the extra hours, even after training, even if it's 10 or 15 minutes. Every little bit helps.