The efforts of Aberdeen’s talented youngsters were recognised at the club’s annual youth academy awards evening at Pittodrie on Tuesday.
Players from the under-10 squad to the under-16 team were joined by their parents in celebrating a strong year for the club’s development arm.
The player of the year winners at the various age groups were also revealed at Pittodrie, with the seven youth team winners taking the Neale Cooper award for their respective squads.
But who are those promising youngsters currently coming through the ranks at Pittodrie?
Foundation phase manager Liam McGarry detailed the accomplishments of the winners of the under-10, 11 and 12 groups, before youth phase manager Stuart Duff addressed the under-13, 14, 15 and 16 squad winners.
Could we see some of these youngsters in the Dons starting 11 in the future?
Under-10 – Leo Forbes (winger)
McGarry said: “This player had good agility and good movement. Their practice ethic has improved throughout 2022.
“It hasn’t come that easy to the player and I’m sure his parents have told us in the past they were quite resistant to it, but it is getter better.
“He has played up seven times for the under-11s, scoring 10 goals. He has also recovered from a broken arm due to a friend’s dog tackling him out the back door.
“He has had a strong final three months of the season, in possession and out of possession.”
Under-11 – Calan Freeland (striker)
McGarry said: “This is a player who is fiercely competitive, has a very strong practice ethic, is strong in and out of possession, and had a strong tournament the Miba Cup (in Belgium) back in August.
“He’s very good with young players and the one I recognised the most for putting an arm round the younger players and welcoming them into the group and encouraging them – he has very good leadership skills for a young boy.
“One of the things we spoke about was the beginning of the season at Club Academy Scotland when we were away at St Mirren and this player was scared of no-one. He had the exact mentality we’re trying to instil in all our players. The way he attacked Club Academy Scotland from the get-go was exceptional.
“He has played up eight times (for the under-12s), scoring 16 goals.
“On one occasion he played against two of the biggest players (defenders) in the country and, in a 2-1 win at Motherwell that day, he scored both goals.”
Under-12 – Finn McCulloch (goalkeeper)
McGarry said: “This is a player who had two very strong tournament performances both at the Jorrit Hendrix Tournament and the MVC Tournament.
“We spoke about it with all the staff at the foundation phase, and we gave him a lot of credit for their development in the group below because he played with them for the best part of three months.
“Again, he’s another with a very good practice ethic, and has received strong feedback from the first-team goalkeeping coach in terms of his technical ability.
“His distribution and decision making has improved this year and he has recognised when he can go longer and hit areas for us to go and counter, and those moments where he can calm it down, get us in shape and build from the back.
“The fact he went to the MVC and won goalkeeper of the tournament is significant.
“We always speak about transition into 11 v 11 being so tough, particularly for a goalkeeper, and this is a young boy who is not ready physically or at the age to play in 11 v 11 goals – but in that particular weekend he did exceptionally well.
“We’ve had a second goalkeeper come into the programme at our age group and he has been a great role model for him. He’s helping another goalkeeper really develop as well.
“This player has been very good in the foundation phase in the last three years and had a very strong 2022.”
Under-13 – Max Pocklington (defender/midfielder)
Duff said: “This player has been captain this year and led by example in terms of performance levels in games and training.
“He has consistently shown his versatility in terms of the way he plays in defence or midfield.
“He shows strength and composure on the ball, and an ability to read the game very well.
“He is a solid defensive player and also comfortable in attacking areas as well, with 11 goals so far this season.
“He has excellent character, calmness, determination and a winning mentality.
“He has also played up recently two age-groups at the under-15 squad and once again performed well, displaying a great level of maturity for such a young player.
“He played up for the under-14 squad 25 times this season and his performances have been excellent.”
Under-14 – Theo Simpson (goalkeeper)
Duff said: “He saved two penalties in the under-14 CAS Cup semi-final penalty shootout victory against Celtic, is very strong in 1v1 situations and has an excellent range of distribution when playing out from the back.
“He also has great leadership qualities for such a young person and has a great level of professionalism and willingness to learn.
“He has regularly played up with the under-15s this season and was a standout performer, not only in the Flint Micasa Cup and the CAS Cup final victories, but also excelled in the BOAL Gravenzande Tournament, where anyone watching that would have given him goalkeeper of the tournament.”
Under-15 – Lewis Carrol (centre-half)
Duff said: “This player has shown great adaptability, leadership skills and is very composed in possession.
“He has chipped in with the odd goal and recently scored two in a 3-2 win against Rangers.
“He has consistently played up with the under-16 age group and has developed and shown a great attitude, as well as performed to a very high level.
“He has played twice for Scotland, been involved in multiple training camps and was captain in the most recent camp.
“He has trained with the under-18 squad in what has been a very strong period for him and was named man of the match in both the Scottish Cup final and Flint Micasa final, where he scored a penalty in the shootout.
Under-16 – Lewis Pirie (striker)
Duff said: “He is the best example of hard work and dedication, not only at training, but away from training, too.
“The extra work he and his parents have put into it has been reflected in matches and training regularly.
“He has been involved in the under-18s on a regular basis and been at all the games, scoring on a few occasions.
“He has enjoyed a goalscoring ratio that is hard to compete with at any level.
“Most importantly he has matured and developed his all-round game to add to his goalscoring prowess, which has been pleasing to see.
“He has represented the Scottish national team in the Victory Shield, scoring against Wales and more recently has been training with the first team of late.”
Young Dons celebrate their success but hard work does not stop for Aberdeen’s youth academy
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