Whenever James Waite is speaking about his career he always mentions his time with Weston AFC.
Waite spent two years with the Seagulls and returned to The Optima Stadium last Friday for the first since his loan spell ended.
Newport County won the friendly 4-0 after goals from Lewis Collins, Chanka Zimba, Harrison Bright and Matty Dolan.
And despite the win, Waite said he enjoyed being back and looked back on his stint at BS24 with great memories.
“It was great to get minutes in the legs, it was good to see old faces down here, it was really good,” he told Weston Mercury Sport.
“Whenever I speak to people about it I’m always mentioning Weston and my loan here. It was fantastic, it’s a great club the facilities that they have, it was great and they played some great football.
“They came out of the blocks as well. I think it was a good game to watch because we are both very expansive teams just trying to play football, so I’m sure it was a good watch.”
However, in his career so far Waite has been on a rollercoaster with as many highs as lows.
The two-time Wales Under-21 international rose through the ranks at Cardiff City after signing for the Bluebirds at the age of seven.
He would sign his first professional contest in 2017 and had loan spells with Hereford, Weston and Waterford in the next four years.
But it was with the Seagulls where Waite said it helped him grow as player and as a person after signing on loan in 2019.
He scored 19 goals and provided six assists in his 30 games in the two years he was at BS24.
His spell was made easier by the amount of support he had from the supporters.
“Coming to a men’s changing room I hadn’t really experienced that before,” he said.
“I was always playing youth football and coming up through the ranks so I was desperate to come here.
“The good following they have got and the home pitch they have is perfect to play some nice football on. It was enjoyable.
“They (supporters) have been great. I still get messages off some of them now. It’s all appreciated and every time I stepped onto the field they were supportive of me.
“Even through I was on loan twice here I didn’t feel like a loan player it was great.
“It was a stepping stone. I’m always aiming to play the highest (level) possible but I knew going there would help me massively.
“Thanks to the gaffer, (Scott Bartlett) Lairdy (Scott Laird) and a lot of the boys that are still here now they helped me out massively. I loved every minute of it.”
After his spell with Weston ended he linked up with Waterford.
His move to Ireland saw him make 12 appearances and again it was an opportunity to go out and build up his growth.
“It’s a experience and I knew that I was young and I needed to get out and play some games,” Waite said.
“If it wasn’t to be at Cardiff then I needed an alternative route to go out and find my football.
“That’s what I had to do and I’ve always said I would be willing to play anywhere and to go anywhere to get that experience. To build my men’s game up in general.”
But after returning his from loan spell at Waterford, Waite was told he was going to be released when his contract expired last June.
He made one senior appearance for Cardiff, a 3-0 defeat to Luton Town in August 2019, and Waite said it was hard to hear the news.
However, he added that he used the disappointment to spur himself on to get back into the Football League.
And he wasn’t out of football for long. A phone call from Penybont manager Rhys Griffiths saw him join the Cymru Premier side that same month.
“Obviously a long time at a club, it is always going to be,” he said.
“I always used that as motivation and I just wanted to prove people wrong then. I wanted to get myself back into the game.
“I had a dip out of the Football League to do that. I always believed I would be back there.
“Rhys Griffiths rung me up and really showed he wanted me and he was keen to get me there. To be fair the first conversation I had with him he said that he would help me get back in the Football League and he has just done that.
“He gave me his word and when the move did come about he didn’t stand in the way of it.”
The Cymru Premier has been a battleground for the Football League in recent years with players moving to and from the two league systems and Newport have brought in two players in the last couple of years.
Will Evans joined Newport from Bala Town this summer and Priestly Farquharson was brought to the Exiles a year before from Connah’s Quay Nomads.
At the other side, there are players such as Shaun MacDonald, who Waite played with at Penybont, Jazz Richards and David Edwards who have had established careers in the EFL before moving to the Cymru Premier.
“The Cymru Premier has come on massively now and there is a few Welsh internationals in there,” Waite said.
“Obviously you’ve got Jazz Richards and Dave Edwards at Bala. It’s great coverage for the Cymru Premier in general."
County manager James Rowberry is someone who has known Waite since the age of 13 from their time at Cardiff and acted quickly to bring in his man.
After 10 goals in 21 appearance he signed an 18-month deal with the Rodney Parade based outfit in January.
“It was a dream move,” he said.
“It’s my local club, as soon as I heard there was interest and there was a chance I just wanted to push as much as I could to get there as quickly as possible. Thankfully it’s all fallen into place.
“The gaffer has been great with me. Not just here but at Cardiff. I know him really well and I think that helped bed me in.
“I was coming in and I knew a couple of faces when I was coming through the door.”
A positive start to his Exiles career has seen him play 16 times and score two goals.
But Waite said he will always have fond memories of when County played Bristol Rovers in March.
The 23-year-old midfielder scored the winner in the 33rd minute with a crisp strike from outside the area for his first league goal on his first start.
“That was a good one,” he added.
“It was my full league debut as well at home and against Bristol Rovers made it a little bit more special.
“Obviously a 1-0 win as well. It was the perfect start for me and I think it really settled me in.”
Now with experience behind him Waite said he is looking to build on last season and play as many games and chip in with as many goals as he can.
He added that wants to “do everything” he can to help Newport be “successful” and says Rowberry has already underlined his intentions for the upcoming campaign.
“The gaffer is clear with what he wants to do,” Waite continued.
“He wants us to play good expansive football and obviously score as many goals as we can and keep them out of the net.
“It’s going great and everyone is clued onto it and we all believe in the same goal and we are all striving to help each other to get there.
“As a footballer you aim for the top that’s always my mentality and that is what you have to do, but I’ve also realised at the same time I’m here and if you want to do that then you have to do your best at the level you are at the moment.
“(I’m) fully focused on this season and really looking forward to it and it’s great to be at the club.”
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