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 ...
who plays for
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
.
A
forward, Hales made his first-team debut for
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, 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. Sin ...
in the third-round
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
draw at
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
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, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
club
Worcester City
Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane.
Worcester City's ...
in 2013, before Birmingham released him at the end of the 2013–14 season. He signed for
Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...
club Kidderminster Harriers, and spent time on loan at
Northern Premier League club
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...
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 in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
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 under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
through to the quarter-final of the 2013 Birmingham Senior Cup
The Birmingham Senior Cup is a football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest county cup competition still active.
The Birmingham Senior Cup is ...
, According to the ''Birmingham Mail
The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire a ...
'', "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 ...
in December 2012, as injury cover before the visit to Barnsley. 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 in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, replacing Ravel Morrison 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 youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Football Association via the Elite Player Performanc ...
, before joining Conference North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
club Worcester City
Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane.
Worcester City's ...
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 club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
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 is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
, Hales signed a one-year contract with the Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...
club on 25 July. On 2 September, he joined Northern Premier League side Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...
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 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...
, "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 Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
, and his first start ten days later in a 2–0 win away at Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
. 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 cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...
club Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...
.
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