Aberdeen U12s

Aberdeen U12s travelled to the Netherlands last week for an historic trip, the first time the AFC Academy have taken such a young team abroad. The Dons’ youngsters were taking part in the prestigious MVC TOP D Tournament in Maasbree, located in the south-eastern Netherlands. It’s a tournament that attracts some of the very top European clubs and on the first day, Aberdeen drew with eventual winners Bayer Leverkusen but lost to Dutch sides Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar. On day two however, they enjoyed wins over PSV, Genk and Venlo. Many of the players’ parents made their way over to the trip and stood on the touchlines alongside Mark van Bommel whose son was also involved.

We spoke to the Head of the AFC Junior Academy, Gavin Levey, about a memorable weekend for everyone involved. He started by telling us how the trip came about.

“For a while now, we have looked at ways in which we can raise the bar. For us, challenging our kids in European competitions was one of the things we wanted to try and push forward this year and this was a chance for us to go out and test ourselves against some of the best academies in Europe.

“I had a friend who is involved in Dutch football who recognised that our academy was on the rise and we were given a formal invitation. For us to be there, joining 11 other teams from across Europe, was fantastic. Those teams were from some of the finest youth academies in Europe such as Chelsea, AZ Alkmaar who were voted the best in Holland last season, Feyenoord who are recognised as having one of the best academies in the Netherlands, plus German sides Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen who won the tournament and were the defending champions. The top Belgium side Genk were also there.

“In Pool A there was Chelsea, FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven, VFL Bochum and a regional side made up of the best players from the host area. We were in Pool B with AZ Alkmaar, Bayer Leverkusen, Feyenoord, Genk and VVV Venlo.

“Looking at the quality of the teams there, we had no idea what to expect especially as we had the toughest group. This was highlighted by the fact that the two teams who contested the final were in our qualifying section.

“We were so proud of the kids. To go there and come in seventh position out of twelve teams was a very good achievement. Of course, we went there wanting to win but realistically, this would have been a very big ask. Even so, we still achieved so much. The kids came away knowing they had done well. We went into the final day on the Sunday knowing that seventh spot was the best we could achieve, so the fact they went out and won all three of their games and clinched that spot was excellent. We finished with an overall record of three wins, two loses and a draw.

“The draw was against the eventual champions Bayer Leverkusen and we were the only team to take anything off them. One of the Dutch newspapers who had a report on the tournament commented that Aberdeen were the surprise package of the tournament because of our result against the German Champions.
“For us, we develop players week in week out in a fixtures programme where there is not a league, there are no cups competitions, so there are no trophies. If you are a young player in Scotland and don’t play for an international team from U14s upwards, you won’t play for medals until reaching the U17 set up. That is not a bad thing as it is about developing players each week, but there need to be times where we can challenge players and where the winning mentality is tested. That is why this tournament was great.

“Our approach had to be different. You really want to win games but you want to win by playing within our philosophy. We did not change from our 4-3-3 formation just because the opposition side was playing a different formation. We still played the football we want to see the boys playing but we were able to do that and also see the kids’ mentality and character tested.

“For the boys it was such a good experience travelling abroad and preparing for games in another country. We want to see the same levels of professionalism off the pitch as we see on it and the boys’ behaviour was exceptional. It is something they are taught at a very young age when they come into the Academy. They were a popular group amongst everyone at the tournament and they made everyone at AFC proud.

“There were a lot of positives to take from the trip but also a recognition that there are things we need to work on. There was a technical difference between some of the European players and our boys and that is one of the big things that we brought back with us. Within Scotland, Aberdeen players are known to be technically good players but when we played against the two Dutch Academy teams, Alkmar and Feyernoord, their level of technique was superb, not just in terms of skill, but their technique in terms of their movement, the way they shoot, the way they finish, everything in their whole game.

“I think it comes from playing on the small pitches they have scattered about the streets in the Netherlands. Kids are playing on them all the time, whether it be 2v2s, 3v2s, whatever. That was the one thing we said to the kids afterwards. No matter how good you think you are technically, you have now seen another level. There was a gulf if I am being honest. So when the kids are playing on their phones, or their X-boxes, they need to consider that is extra practise time they could have to improve their technique even more and to be able to match the very best players.”

Despite these teams being technically better, Gavin believes there is much to be optimistic about.

“I am in charge of the U9s through to the U12s and try and help and develop the coaches as much as possible. I manage the coaching curriculum and philosophy and also work with the youngsters and their parents to try and help them fulfil their potential. This season, my role has evolved a little bit more and I was asked to coach the U15s which is a great honour. I have worked with and known these kids since they were seven, so to get the opportunity to work with them again and to try and help them to move up to the U17s where they are only a year away from getting a professional contract is exciting.

“We feel we have the best structure in place that we possibly can and have the best coaches and coaching partnerships working with the right age groups. We have a lot of players that we are excited about. I don’t want to name them as I don’t want to put added pressure on them, but for example, with the U15s I am now working with, six of them were involved in the international squad recently. To have six in at one age group is a massive achievement for the club, for all the coaches who have worked with them, for all the players who have played with them and pushed them on.

“We have a good number of internationalists at each age group and that is the best way we can be measured at the moment. Some of the younger groups that are coming through are very strong so when they get a chance to play international football, I am sure those squads will also have a high number of players involved”.

Gavin is quick to praise the support the club have had within the last year with talent partner Statoil. It is a long term partnership, but even over the relatively short period since they came on board, there have been positive changes made within the AFC Youth Academy.

“Statoil has helped us achieve a lot of ambitions that we had. Straight away, we recognised that sports science is a massive part of today’s game so we now have a full-time sports scientist who works with all the academy players. We have a full time video analyst as that is also a huge part of football. The scouting network has been expanded too. We are able to go play in tournaments abroad such as the one last weekend. We have the talent of the month awards with an end of season award night. All these things contribute to making us better. Having that partnership will only help us get stronger and stronger.

“I would like to add that as a club we appreciated the support from all the various schools for allowing the players the time off to have this experience.

“I would also like to thank the U12s coaches – Scott Duncan and Lawrence Mclelland. A big thanks to Emma Fisher Senior Football Operations Co-ordinator and Physio Marcus Quarmby who accompanied to the Netherlands. Finally thanks to all the parents and families for all their positive support on the trip.”

To see the interview with Gavin in full, please check out RedTV’s Magazine programme RedInsider. Each week RedInsider, hosted by Dave Macdermid and Russell Anderson, gives supporters an insight into what is happening within all the departments at AFC.

In addition to Statoil, The AFC Youth Academy would like to thank the following companies for helping with the trip:
The Craibstone Suits
Power Jacks
Deep Blue Engineering Solutions
Frasers of Ellon
Biocchis Fraserburgh
Stephen’s Newsagent Fraserburgh
FIS Chemicals
FSI
Stewart Milne Group
Russell Gibson Financial Management

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