| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Callum Reece Ball | ||
| Date of birth | 8 October 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Leicester, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Derby County | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2002 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| 2002–2011 | Derby County | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2009– | Derby County | 16 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:37, 2 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Callum Reece Ball (born October 8, 1992) is a professional footballer, currently playing for Football League Championship side Derby County. He plays as a striker.
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Ball joined Derby County's youth system at the age of 9 from local rivals Nottingham Forest,[2] becoming a scholar in the Derby County Academy.[3] Although primarily involved with the scholar team – scoring six goals in three matches during December 2009[3] – Ball also featured for the Derby County Reserves side which won the 2009–10 Central League Central Section title, starting twice and scoring the winner in a 1–0 win over Macclesfield Town.[4] He eventually netted 25 goals at U-18 and reserve level throughout the campaign.[5] His first experience of first team football came when he was named as a substitute for Derby County's FA Cup 3rd Round tie at Millwall in January 2010. He made his full debut as a late substitute in Derby's 2–0 victory over Cardiff City on the final day of the 2009–10 season.[6]
Ball enjoyed a blistering start to the 2010–11 season as he featured regularly for the Under-18s and the reserves, scoring 13 times for the former and 5 times for the latter by the middle of October.[7] This form lead to Ball being named on the substitutes bench for the game versus Swansea City ahead of senior striker Chris Porter, despite Porter being fully fit.[8] His form continued throughout the season and by the end of April, Ball had scored 31 goals - 21 for the under-18 side and 10 for the reserves.[5] Ball again featured on the senior substitute bench for the games against Burnley and at Norwich City over the Easter holiday period, managing to get his 3rd and 4th first team appearance as a late substitute in both games,[9][10] with Derby manager Nigel Clough hinting at his desire for Ball to break into the First Team in the 2011/12 season.[11] Ball made his full debut on the final day of the 2010/11 season in a 2-1 defeat away to Reading, a match in which he had his first professional goal wrongly disallowed for offside. The week after the end of the campaign, Derby announced Ball would be given a first-year professional contract following the completion of the club's scholarship programme.[12]
In July 2011, Ball signed a new three-year contract, which extended his stay at the Pride Park club until at least 2014.[13] Ball scored his first senior goal for the club in a 2-1 win at home to Bristol City on 10 December 2011.[14]
(correct as of 2 January 2012)
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other 1 | Total | |||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Derby County | 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | |
| Career Total | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
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