Harry Wood feels his loan with Northern Premier League East side Grantham Town has only accelerated his development.
The second year scholar has made seven appearances since joining the Gingerbreads in Step Four and recently scored the first goal of his spell against North Ferriby United.
“I think I’m doing really well at Grantham,” said Wood. “I’ve been developing more as a player every week and I’m learning so much about men’s football.
“I feel like I’m coping with the more physical parts of the game a lot better and I’ve shown what kind of workrate I’ve got in those sorts of environments so I’m just really enjoying getting all the experience.
“It’s been great seeing how much of an impact I’ve been able to have and I was just over the moon to get my first goal for the team.
“I was buzzing with it because that was my first in senior football and I’ve never felt anything like it.
“It’s great to see that against my name now and although we were unfortunate to not get the result that day, that’s a moment that I’ll always remember now.”
Grantham currently sit inside the bottom two in the Northern Premier League East but Wood is relishing the chance to improve his new side’s fortunes.
“Being able to help a team out that perhaps haven’t had the best starts to a season has been great,” he said. “It’s nice to see how the staff at Grantham have valued me and put their trust in me as an 18-year-old.
“The manager, Louis Bland has told me that he’s really impressed with my progress and he’s put his faith in me to keep starting me so I’m really happy with that.
“He told me that I’ve played at a consistently high standard throughout my time there and that I’ve really helped contribute towards some of the positive results that we’ve had.
“He’s been nothing but great since I arrived and he’s really pushed me so I’m just really happy with how things are playing out.
“Every game I’ve played I feel like I’ve developed and now I’ve started adding more goals and assists to my game so it’s good to see that I can help the team out.”
Since making the step up to men’s football Wood has been required to adapt to the settings of non-league football but the midfielder was keen to make a good impression.
“Given the amount of fans that Grantham have got, you are exposed to a lot more people and you do feel a bit under pressure but that’s been great because when I’m having to do that on a regular basis further down the line it will feel natural.
“It’s naturally a more physical game and I’ve had to toughen up because it was a big shock to start with but I’ve dealt with that better in every game and that’s only going to improve with the games coming up so that’s been a massive positive.
“I want to do as well I can and I want more goals and assists so by doing that I’ll be giving myself the best chance for any future opportunities.
“I got the feedback on my development with the youth team at Christmas and I feel like I’ve come such a long way since then so I just want to keep showing people what I’m capable of and then take it from there.”
