Aberdeen’s Under 18s have certainly enjoyed the season so far, scoring goals for fun, as they sit near the top of the table with games in hand and have an SFA Youth Cup Quarter Final to look forward to at home to Hamilton Accies at the end of January. But there’s no chance that the boys will get carried away with things for they after every game are soon back into training at Cormack Park with all their chores to do. For Alfie Stewart, that means cleaning Connor Barron’s boots.

“All the first team boys are really good with the young lads. We are all at Cormack Park together and they all speak to us, in the kit room or in the gym. I clean Connor’s boots and he’s a great lad. He is such a nice guy around the training ground and will give me a lot of encouragement. He always jokes that his boots are not clean enough! He is a very good professional, he works so hard everyday. He is a great role model for the young lads.”

It’s not that long ago that Connor was on boot cleaning duties himself (and we should point out Connor still helps out), but such is the pace of change at a football club that he is now a wise old head compared with Alfie, even though he’s been with the Dons a good while now.

“I’ve been with Aberdeen for seven and a half years now. I came into the Youth Academy early, I played with the 2005s to start with, then stayed back a year to play with my own age group.

“I’m from Newtonhill and went to Newtonhill Primary School before going on to the SFA Performance School at Hazelehead. I learnt a lot in my time there, and I think I became a better person as well as a better player. Stuart Glennie and Derek Young both helped me a lot.

“I started as a left-back in the Academy! I played most of my youth football as a central midfielder but now I play more on the right or as number 10. Even when I play on the right, I get told to come in, so I’m probably more of an attacking midfielder that an out and out winger.

“I’m a lifelong Aberdeen fan, along with my family. The first game I can remember was the friendly with Manchester United, when we won 2-1. Growing up, Niall McGinn was the player I idolised. More recently, I really liked Ryan Hedges. I also have a photo of me with Barry Robson when he was a player – I have never told him that! It is so good working with Barry every day. He really pushes you, but that’s just because he wants you to be as good a player as you can be.”

Being a young player at any club is a nerve-racking thing because you’re always coming towards another judgement day and a decision on whether you have a future. That’s especially true as they near the moment when they either turn pro or leave the club.

“I was playing with the U18s last year and getting more confident, but I still didn’t know if I was getting a full-time contract. I remember going into the meeting when I would be told about my future, I was so nervous, I was shaking. Throughout the day I could not concentrate at school, so when Scott Anderson and Gavin Levey told me, it was such a proud moment for me and my family. I was with my mum and then had to phone my dad who was offshore at the time. They were both really happy for me.

“Since then, my first year as a professional, it has been tough, very tough. The first pre-season in Portugal was quite an experience! But I have enjoyed every minute of it. Training twice a day is very demanding but the standard is very high. I’ve loved it so far.”

The U18s’ scoring exploits continued on Friday as they beat Rangers, Alfie netting the first and then Alfie Bavidge scoring a late winner, his 20th league goal of the season so far. Adam Emslie on the left of midfield and Alfie Stewart on the right have both produced an enormous number of assists so far this season.

“It is unbelievable playing with Alfie Bavidge and Liam Harvey, the pace and the power they have when they run at defenders is frightening. If you play a ball forward to them, you know that you will get something from it. Their finishing is also so good. I played with Alfie and Liam through the Academy so I know them very well. I know how they play and the runs they make.

“We do a lot of running in training to allow us to play the way we do. The sessions on a Monday and Tuesday are very tough and long, but they are enjoyable. Without doing that work, we would have to play a lot safer. We like to press and get after teams, and when we have the ball, we play with a real freedom.

“The season has gone very well. We took a lot of confidence from beating St Mirren 9-0 in the first game. We’ve had a couple of slip ups, the Hamilton Accies defeat away from home was very disappointing and we also lost to Celtic. But in the last couple of weeks, we have drawn 3-3 with Celtic at home after being 2-0 down and then we had a really good win over Hamilton. We are in a very good league position and we have had a couple of good wins in the Youth Cup.

“We knew, having pretty much the same team as we did last year, that we would be strong so we have big goals and things to aim for. Hopefully we can meet those goals.”

SLO

Supporter Liaison and Disability Access Officer