Nearly 10 years have passed since Teeboy Kamara became the A-League's youngest ever player when he featured for Adelaide United against Gold Coast United.
Aged just 15 years and 212 days at the time, it's a record Kamara still holds and it's a day he'll never forget.
"I always remember it. I think there were about 8,000 fans, but it felt like 20,000 with everyone cheering and yelling. It was amazing," Kamara told Sporting News.
Despite bursting onto the scene at such a young age having also played for Australia at the U17 World Cup in 2011, the past decade hasn't exactly gone to plan for the winger, who is only now starting to fly again with Victorian National Premier League side Green Gully SC.
Kamara's astonishing debut and subsequent struggles have taken on greater meaning this past year with the A-League embracing its younger players in record numbers.
According to the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), 107 players under the age of 21 featured in Australia's top-flight this season.
Those appearances could mark the start of a great career or a peak that some players will struggle to surpass in the years to come.
Kamara himself is still battling to ensure he doesn't fall into that latter category, with his one and only A-League match to date coming out of the blue in December 2011.
"I remember it was Wednesday, we had a training session and I had a little calf problem and the physio said to me, ‘Teeboy, you’re playing this week so if I was you, I’d make sure you’re 100 per cent right’," Kamara recalls.
"I wasn’t even dreaming about playing anytime soon because I was only 15. Finishing school early on Friday, the whole preparation, being on the news, it was just unreal to be honest.
"I didn’t quite know until Thursday that I was playing on the Friday against Gold Coast. We had a couple injuries and I was obviously doing well with the youth team - the week before I scored two against Victory.
"I wasn’t really thinking about first-team, just playing and enjoying football, and then all of a sudden everything just took off."
Cheered on by around 50 family members and friends, Kamara's cameo appearance wasn't quite a fairytale as he struggled to get involved in a 3-0 loss.
"I got maybe four or five touches. I remember playing against Jerrad Tyson, who I’m now with at Gully. It was all quick, I played maybe 15-20 minutes but it felt like I played two hours of football," he said.
"I think I was ready it was just unfortunate that I got injured for two years, lost a bit of passion, didn’t have mum near me or someone to mentor me.
"But I’ve matured. I’m 25 now and I haven’t given up. I’m still doing what I can with Green Gully and whatever happens, happens."
The years after Kamara's debut certainly didn't go to script with a bizarre medical diagnosis stalling his progress and testing his resolve to stay in football.
"I was meant to go with the youth team to Asia, had a blood test and something came back that I had something in my liver," Kamara said.
"It wasn’t bad but the club wanted to be cautious. I went on medication and they just told me to rest.
"One day I got up a bit frustrated and I texted the club, ‘I don’t think football’s for me anymore. I’ve lost my passion and I want to move on to something else’."
Though eager to pursue a career in personal training, Kamara's mum convinced him to continue chasing his round ball dreams and he subsequently bounced between a number of NPL clubs from 2014 to 2019.
Cruising along at semi-professional level, the skilful attacker admits he was falling short on and off the pitch until he arrived at Gully in 2019.
Now played predominantly on the right wing, Kamara has found his feet in the team and some much-needed grounding in the real world.
"Stephen Downes and Stevie Laurie are probably the two best coaches I’ve had aside from Tony Vidmar at Adelaide. They’ve changed me into a better person, not just footballer," he said,
"When I first moved to Melbourne I wasn’t really caring about football, was changing clubs a lot. Gully is the closest thing to the A-League I’ve had.
"Everything is done so well. Every single training session I’m learning something. It’s been amazing. I’ve never been at a club for three years so that shows how much they’ve helped me and made me a better person who is more open, honest and accountable for their mistakes.
"This year has been great for me because I’ve just been more positive. I think there’s for sure another 80 or 90% in me once I get fitter and start taking more risks. I haven’t hit my peak yet.
"I’ve got a lot of learning still to do and with the coaches I have I think if I keep going the way I am who knows? The A-League is on my mind and as long as I’m at Gully I’m positive that I’ll get better."
Having seen dozens of youngsters follow in his footsteps this season by bursting onto the A-League stage at a young age, Kamara is hoping they can learn from his mistakes.
"My biggest advice would be don’t get too carried away. With all this hype going around, just try to be humble and keep working," he said.
"No matter how talented you are, hard work will always beat talent. When I was younger I thought I was talented, but did I put in the hark work? Probably not compared to what I’m doing now. Now I’m putting in the extras, staying back at training, going to the gym.
"I grew up with a lot of the boys in Adelaide like the Toures and the biggest thing I’ve told them is keep being humble and level headed. Take it one step at a time."
It's advice Kamara has had to learn the hard way and though it's nearly been 10 years since his unforgettable debut, his career might only now be ready to properly take off.