Rhys Bills
Rhys Bills is a goalkeeper currently playing for the Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-18 team.
Rhys Bills | |||||||||||||||||||
Full Name | Rhys Mason Bills | ||||||||||||||||||
Date of Birth | 23 September 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||
Age | 27 years | ||||||||||||||||||
Place of Birth | Stafford | ||||||||||||||||||
Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | English | ||||||||||||||||||
Current club | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||||||||||||||||||
Previous club/s | Hednesford, Great Wyrley, Brownhills Colts |
Contents |
Youth career
Rhys started playing at about six years old, starting out with Brownhills Colts. He began as a forward, but gradually moved backwards and became a goalkeeper at about ten. He went on to play for Great Wyrley for a few years and then Hednesford: at the time arguably the best team in Staffordshire. He was first spotted by Wolves playing for Cannock and District Schoolboys in a game against Wolverhampton, eventually coming through a trial and joining as a fifteen year old. An earlier trial at the same club had been unsuccessful, in part because he was overweight, and now he didn't have long to impress before the scholars were chosen, but when the time came his hard work paid off as he was awarded his scholarship.
Wolves' academy goalkeeping coach, Paul Clements, openly admits that Rhys was a mess technically although good with his feet, and that he was seen as a project. By the end of his first year as a scholar though, he had played a few Under-18 games and part of an Under-21 friendly against West Brom. Clements was praising him, saying "He is brave and he is big, and he sees pictures."
International
Career statistics
No data pre 2014-15. Wolves give no squad information for U18 apart from the FA Youth Cup. Correct up to end of 2014-15 season.
Club | Season | Senior | Under-21 Lge | Under-21 PLC | B'ham Senior Cup | Under-18 Lge | FA Youth Cup | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starts | Subs | Goals | Starts | Subs | Goals | Starts | Subs | Goals | Starts | Subs | Goals | Starts | Subs | Goals | Starts | Subs | Goals | ||
Wolves | 2014-15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career honours
Member of the 2015 Bitzer Cup winning side. He was the second keeper, behind Harry Burgoyne, and only got one game out of the five. He kept a clean sheet.
Contract
Season 2015-16 is the second year of his scholarship with Wolves.