Cox Green footballer turns setback into business start-up with new shin pads

A 10-year-old footballer from Cox Green has released new shin pads that he hopes will stop others from being injured on the pitch – inspired by his own road to recovery.

Ashton Lock has been a Brentford FC academy player for 18 months and suffered a severe injury to his collarbone while playing in a youth team game against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this year.

His father, former Holyport manager and Maidenhead United assistant boss, Sam Lock, said Ashton’s schedule had been ‘very full on’ but the injury left him with a lot of time on his hands.

“We thought he broke the top of his arm and were looking at ten weeks out, and obviously, ten weeks for a little boy seems like forever,” the 36-year-old told the Advertiser.

“Going from 10 to 15 hours a week to zero training – he had a lot of time on his hands, and I wanted to educate him that there are things other than football.

“He has always been into clothing and wearing the latest footballer outfits, so we decided to play around with clothing brands.

“We were sketching ideas in A&E and started a brand name.”

They landed on ‘TEKX Sports’, which is inspired by ‘tekkers’, a slang term used in football and video games to describe a person’s skill or style.

“Shin pads were always a problem. They kept going around the back of his leg; he kept falling and losing them. We thought, let's see what we come up with,” said Sam.

The duo launched their new TEKX shin pads on Monday, featuring a sleeve and foam pad that moulds to the player's leg and is available in multiple sizes for children and adults.

The process took most of the year, involving multiple drawings and Ashton testing different samples.

“The way shin pads have gone is they seem to be getting smaller and smaller,” said Sam. “A lot of boys and men are not wearing proper shin pads anymore. They’re using bits of card and rolled-up bandages down their legs because they want short and light shin pads.

“The way the game is changing, fortunately, there aren’t as many bad tackles and things anymore, so people feel they don’t need to wear big, bulky pads.

“Obviously, there’s a line between protection and comfort, so it's down to the individual what they want to wear and what they feel safe in as long as it’s in the FA guidelines.

“So this was the next step, giving them protection and the light pads they enjoy wearing.”

Ashton, who studies at Wessex Primary School, said he feels ‘proud’ of the finished product and the positive feedback received from his friends.

“They think it's really good and will go far hopefully. They said they’ll try and get a pair as well,” he said.

“I’m really proud because hopefully it stops other people from injury as well, and makes people feel better.

“Before I had shin pads that didn’t stick on, and it’s annoying, but now I can play freely without any problems.

“I have a chance to give it to other people, so they don’t have problems as well.”

Sam said it ‘means a lot’ to create a business with his son.

“It’s completely out of my comfort zone – nothing like anything I’ve ever done in my life, but I’ve been learning on the way and teaching him,” he added. “What I really wanted to show him was you’re not just Ashton the footballer, you’re Ashton, and you can do lots of things.

“There are a lot of life lessons we can take out of this, like starting something and seeing it through. I’ve loved every second of it.”