WHO better to recount the highs and lows of being a footballer than a real life professional?

Bolton Wanderers midfielder Jason Lowe captained England to the Under-20 World Cup, played for the Under-21s in a European Championship and boasts more than 250 games in the Premier League and Championship.

But as he explained to pupils at Walkden High School, his career path has not always been an easy one.

Lowe answered questions from a group of the school’s footballers who play either at academy level for clubs or for Salford Schools and explained his route into the sport.

Rejected as a young player by Manchester City, he made his way through Blackburn’s academy to play top-level football for Rovers, before moving on to Birmingham City. Lowe’s year in the Midlands proved difficult, however, and faced with long spells out of the team he was forced to take a different view on the game, eventually moving on to play for Wanderers this summer.

“Life’s about ups and downs, isn’t it?” he said. “The young lads we’ve spoken to will have to accept you’ll have tough times where things are not going the way you want.

“My philosophy has always been to try and take positives from a bad situation. When you are down, that’s where your strength of character and determination comes from.

“Life’s easy when it’s good. But I’ve had times where maybe the football side of my life hasn’t gone so well, and it can impact on the rest. It’s a test and it’s important to learn and push yourself to get over those tough times.”

Lowe also joined in with an after-school football session for Year 7 and 8 players who did not make the team but who still want to play a regular game.

The sessions are run every Tuesday and coached by older mentors, designed to improve confidence in players who have not played representative football.

One mentor, Luke Tinsley, explained: “Me and Louis (Quinn) come down to help out the players who haven’t made the team, put them into games and help them improve their skills. That might put them in line for a place in the school side or give them confidence to go and join a Saturday or Sunday team.”

Nick Hilton, pastoral manager and heads of year lead at Walkden High told us “It’s invaluable to have Jason to come in, particularly for the boys who play for Salford Schools or academies, it gives them a renewed sense of focus you can’t put a price on.

“As a school we’ve been great at bringing in people from business and industry but not so good with working with sports clubs, so hopefully this can be the start of a healthy link with Bolton Wanderers.

“We’ve got so many young people who play at a really high level of sport, so getting this advice from someone at the top of their profession is wonderful.”