Reece Brett Hales (born 12 February 1995) is an English
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays for
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system.
Formed in ...
.
A
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
, Hales made his first-team debut for
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
in the third-round
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
draw at
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
in January 2013, but that was his only appearance for the first team. He spent time
on loan at
Conference North
The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
club
Worcester City
Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...
in 2013, before Birmingham released him at the end of the 2013–14 season. He signed for
Conference Premier
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...
club Kidderminster Harriers, and spent time on loan at
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
club
Stourbridge
Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham,
at the southwester ...
before making his debut for his parent club.
Club career
Birmingham City
Hales was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and lived in the
West Heath district of the city. He joined
Birmingham City's academy when he was 12,
[ and took up a two-year scholarship in July 2011.] He scored one of the goals that took Birmingham's reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
through to the quarter-final of the 2013 Birmingham Senior Cup
The Birmingham Senior Cup is a regional Association football, football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest County Football Association, count ...
, According to the ''Birmingham Mail
The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...
'', "he plays with a tremendous work ethic, is aggressive and possesses good movement in and around the penalty area. His attitude and character delights Blues' coaches and he is striving hard to improve all aspects of his game".
His first competitive involvement with the first team came when he was given a squad number
In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to id ...
in December 2012, as injury cover before the visit to Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
. He made his debut in the third round FA Cup tie away at Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
, replacing Ravel Morrison
Ravel Ryan Morrison (born 2 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Second Division League club Precision.
Morrison rose through the youth ranks at Manchester United where he was considered as one of their ...
with five minutes plus a lengthy period of stoppage time remaining. The match ended 1–1.
Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Hales signed his first professional contract, of one year with an option for a second. He scored for the development squad both in pre-season and in the Professional Development League
The Professional Development League is a system of Football in England, English youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Th ...
, before joining Conference North
The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
club Worcester City
Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...
in mid-October on loan for a month. He made his debut as a second-half substitute in the FA Cup third qualifying round against Rugby Town on 12 October, and was in the starting eleven for the replay three days later; Worcester won 2–0. He made five appearances in all during his loan spell, four in the FA Cup and one in the Conference North, without scoring.[ Hales spent time training with ]Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...
in early 2014, and played regularly for Birmingham's development squad, but Birmingham released him when his contract expired at the end of the 2013–14 season.
Kidderminster Harriers
After spending the 2014–15 pre-season with Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system.
Formed in ...
, Hales signed a one-year contract with the Conference Premier
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...
club on 25 July. On 2 September, he joined Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
side Stourbridge
Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham,
at the southwester ...
on a month's loan to gain experience of first-team football. He scored on his first-team debut against Trafford
Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...
, "brilliantly back-heeling into the bottom corner" for Stourbridge's first goal in a 2–2 draw. The loan was extended for a further month, and by the time he returned to his parent club, he had played nine matches, all in the league[ – Kidderminster refused permission for him to play in the FA Cup – and scored four goals.][
Hales made his Kidderminster debut – his first appearance at Conference Premier level – on 12 November as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 defeat at home to ]Aldershot
Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
, and his first start ten days later in a 2–0 win away at Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
. After failing to make an impact with Harriers, Hales returned to Stourbridge on loan until the end on the season.
In June 2016, Hales went on trial at Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
club Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...
.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hales, Reece
1995 births
Living people
Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
English men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Birmingham City F.C. players
Worcester City F.C. players
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players
Stourbridge F.C. players
National League (English football) players
Northern Premier League players
21st-century English sportsmen