TALENTED teenagers dreaming of an AFL career will take their first step on the representative pathway next week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hampden has assembled a 24-strong squad for its under 15 schoolboys’ games against South West and Wimmera at Ararat.
Top performers from those three sides, plus Ballarat, will be picked to play for a North Ballarat Rebels-aligned outfit at the V/Line Cup in September.
Hampden coach Noel Mugavin said 36 players were put through their paces at three practice sessions before the final squad was announced on Wednesday night.
The Emmanuel College teacher said the Ararat-based series was a stepping stone towards representative competitions, such as TAC Cup and AFL underage nationals.
And the 2016 crop needn’t look far for inspiration.
Koroit forward Josh Chatfield and Terang Mortlake midfielder-forward Scott Carlin will don Vic Country colours at the AFL under 16 national championships, which start in Geelong on Sunday and wrap up on the Gold Coast next month.
The pair played starring roles for the Hampden schoolboys’ squad 12 months ago and have since gone on to make their senior debuts for their respective clubs.
“For a lot of these boys it is their first carnival where it can lead on to future representation,” Mugavin said of the 2015 team.
“They’re going to play against players they’ve never played before; it exposes them to play at the next level.
“Our aim, myself and the three other coaches, is to give every kid an opportunity to enjoy the experience, learn something, understand what it’s like to compete against boys they’ve never come across before.
“We want them to come away with a positive experience and have that help their development.”
Mugavin said the players would benefit learning from top south-west junior mentors.
“Brett Taylor from Cobden is a wonderful junior coach and mentor and is fantastic for that whole region,” he said.
“And we have Ben Thomas and John Atchison, who coach in the Hampden junior league, so it’s good they know all of the boys too.
“We are really happy with the squad; it’s a good representation of boys at the age level.”
The Hampden team: Tate Porter, Riley McVilly, Luke Ball, Alex Lavithis-Davis, Toby Kent, Ethan Harvey, Isaac Kenna, Tom Keast, Ben Anderson, Mitch Reed, Eddy Gattek, Bailey Jenkinson, Jia Anderson, Cooper Atchison, Blake Carroll, Jackson Grundy, Jacob Brooks, Luke Byrne, Josh Dwyer, Jack Johnstone, josh Warboys, Conor Hinkley, Jack Hookway and Sebastian Good.