HIS family dismissed him as having two left feet and no athletic ability.
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But eight years on, rugby league player Isaac Taylor is being eyed by the Newcastle Knights.
Isaac made his sporting debut in soccer when he was five.
He represented Kahibah Football Club for two years before he asked his parents to play league.
His mother Janine said that the family had little hope of Isaac becoming a sports star.
"He was so hopeless at soccer," Mrs Taylor said.
"He fumbled around and would purposely avoid the ball so we went into footy with low expectations."
Isaac's true talent was unveiled when he made his first on-field appearance for the Dudley-Redhead Football Club.
Father Phil was Isaac's only supporter to see him score his first try.
Four years later, talent scouts offered Isaac a place with Central Charlestown Junior Rugby League Football Club's under-13s first division team.
The team made the grand final last year but lost to Valentine.
However, Isaac's best days lie ahead.
The fullback is Charlestown's leading points-scorer among its eight representative teams.
He scored 20 tries this season.
He is also gaining exposure through the Newcastle School Boys Junior Rugby League team.
Isaac's coach Ashley Gordon - the first player signed to the Newcastle Knights - said that the National Rugby League club "knows about Isaac".
"He's well ahead of other kids his age, physically and mentally," Gordon said.
"Between now and the age of 20, he'll have a lot of distractions that can pull his footy back but if he ignores them he has a good chance [of being signed to the Knights]."
However, Isaac is focused on supporting his career with good grades.
This year he started his secondary education at Hunter Sports High, where he opted to undertake a Targeted Sporting Program.
As part of the program, Isaac dedicates two morning lessons a week to training.
He has also been selected as one of the school's rugby league representatives.