2012: Vardy scores with non-league Fleetwood Town
2013: Vardy scores in competitive debut for new club Leicester City
2014: Vardy nets in the Premier League for the first time ever
2016: Vardy grabs first ever English National Team goal, and sits second on the Premier League Top Scorers Chart
While the story of Jamie Vardy’s climb from the depths of the English footballing pyramid has garnered attention across the globe, the sheer difficulty of the leap is often looked past because of the unique ‘party boy’ personal life of the English striker which provides ample backstory to help fill column inches.
Forwards of the past such as Jermaine Beckford and DJ Campbell proved how hard that move can be as the pair successfully folded back into obscurity.
In the case of Bayside United’s goal-scoring sensation Bronte James, the leap to the premier division of Victorian football hasn’t fazed her as she’s gone on to put a number of vibrant displays in the forward line, without a hint of the off-field demeanour of her English counterpart.
The athletic forward made it four goals from five games after netting in the 2-1 loss to Calder United after coming on as an impact sub at the start of the second half.
“I wasn’t expecting to get this many, but it’s all about the team and the assists,” she says with more than a hint of modesty.
“So I try to be there at the right moment – getting onto the cross from Kendra who is a very good player.”
Her leap, like Vardy’s, saw her span five divisions in one move, successfully transitioning from East Bentleigh Strikers SC in State League Four, to the top-flight NPLW competition.
Again, like Vardy, she’s found herself one of the biggest impact players in the league at this current time.
The 17-year-old also has time on her side, having won both the Best and Fairest and Golden Boot awards for The Strikers, while having also represented Victoria across various age groups in both outdoor and futsal in the past.
Despite this background, she still admitted the leap up was a sizeable one, with the physicality of the game taking her aback to begin with.
“It was a big jump in my first game,” James admitted.
“It’s so physical and nowhere near State League Four. It’s very fast paced movement which you have to get used to.”
Her game-plan so far as a wide forward has been to patiently wait for the opportune time to strike, waiting in the wings before launching her attack forward with precision.
It’s almost reflective of her footballing journey to date, biding her time with East Bentleigh – spending her junior days at the club from the age of seven – before picking the perfect time to make the leap to a higher level.
“For me as a striker, I try and hang back and play a stealthy attack – wait back and wait for the right moment.
“When it’s my turn to go, I go.”
Bayside coach Graham Dudley has worked to build a team-first mentality, focused on development and building the confidence and skill-set of his young side.
His utilisation of James this season has often been the role of impact sub, as it proved to be against Calder on Sunday night.
“Bronte [James] was on the bench as a tactical move we were trying to do,” her coach said.
“I don’t really know how Calder play; you hear things but I don’t really know how they play, so we packed the midfield in the first half and thought we’d bring the fresh legs of Bronte because she’s quite a young impact player at the moment.”
“Of course I always hope to come on, but I take one for the team and sit down and wait for my turn to come on when Graeme thinks I’m ready,” James responded.
“Obviously I’m always happy with my goals, and trying to win one for my team and come back from 2-0 down.”
With the youngster clearly showing that she isn’t out of her depth at Bayside in a league four divisions higher than her previous experience, the focus is to keep improving in consistency and turn super-sub appearances into dominant 90 minute performances. Beyond that, the limits are boundless.
Feature image: Graeme Furlong