Ben, 22 moves back to his Sussex roots after living in Chichester most of his life having spent the last few years plying his trade on a football scholarship in the USA at the University of Rio Grande. At 5ft 10 (pushing 6ft) right footed Ben can play on the wing or through the middle of the pitch.
He won The Isthmian U18 League with Bognor before departing these shores and was one of only five players to be placed on The River States Conference Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete team last year.
“Playing in the U23 feeder league I have been out of touch with English football but heard about Worthing FC through Ross Edwards who I now share lifts with and coming back to the area, Hinsh and the boys have been great through pre-season and I can’t wait to get started”
Of Mexican descent Ben describes himself as hard working, committed, confident and loves ball to feet, a versatile attacking midfielder who also has the reputation for the spectacular. (Going by some of his strikes on his youtube package!) In terms of what he knows about the fans Ben said this:
“Social Media and Twitter has been a massive influence in terms of the relationship with fans and the club, I saw some of the attendance figures from last season which were excellent. My ambition and aim, like much of the boys, is to finish as high as we can in the league, push for promotion and have solid cup runs. Its great how there is so much competition for places”.
Mason, 20 spent some time at Broadbridge Heath and Three Bridges most recently playing for their U23 side scoring 9 goals in 10 appearances. He scored his first goal for Bridges front side against eventual Play-Off runners-up, Ashford United in October and netted twice in The Bears last ever game at their Leisure Centre Ground. He also notched on debut for Combined Counties League side, Redhill. He can be deployed out wide or as a striker which is his primary position. He received a call from Hinsh asking to train and never really had a doubt that we would be his club going into the 2019/20 season.
“I love the professional approach of the club, enjoying every minute of it and can’t wait to get started. The management team come with a wealth of knowledge which will only help me moving forward in my career”
Mason describes shooting as his strongest attribute and being confident on either foot, he uses it to his advantage and gets the opponents thinking, he loves beating defenders on either side and carving out opportunities from nothing.
Another thing that has stood out so far for Mason are the fans, “I’m aware of Worthing being a big club with a great fan base due to speaking with Joel Colbran who I played with at youth level, I’ve also seen stuff on social media most notably from Ollie Pearce (lots of fan interaction!) and hope I can build a strong relationship with the awayboys and girls over time, the singing and motivation being a 12th man is a huge factor for us as players”
Having known a few of the squad Mason also played with our other new signing Joe Tennant last season at Three Bridges and hopes they can both bring strength to an already strong team on and off the pitch “I will always give my best and play with a smile on my face, being such a quality club and having a great following means I need to create a good first impression and I will do that”.
As a club we provide the pathway through the footballing pyramid & both players are looking forward to their Worthing journey hoping to impress during the season. Once again we wish them both a successful season and welcome them to Woodside!
Writing Credit: Sam Virgoe
