By JARROD POTTER
RETURNING to the school sport footy try-outs for a second shot has paid off for Alex Young.
Young, 15, from Pakenham, will trade his beloved Beaconsfield jersey for something with a little more gravitas.
He has earned his first Victorian jersey to represent the state at the upcoming School Sport Australia (SSA) Football 15-and-Under Championships next month in Geelong.
While Young wasn’t able to feature in the under-12 carnival – after a rolled ankle in the try-out match cost him any chance of making the team – things went more smoothly this time around as he made it through the try-outs to earn selection.
Young could not believe he made the team, having to double-check the congratulatory message from School Sport Victoria sent out to the under-15 footballer.
“When I first read it I thought it was weird and I had to keep reading it again,” Young said.
“Knowing that there are other boys out there that want to be in my spot – I didn’t have the confidence… but it’s pretty exciting to make it.”
Marshalling the play from half-back, before blitzing his way through the centre, Young thinks his best football fit is at centre-half-back and loves to roam the field like Hawthorn’s Shaun Burgoyne.
“I usually play at centre half back, sometimes in the midfield, but mainly in the backline,” Young said. “I like to run off and open the play up and go into the open space.”
Keeping his ambitions for the carnival simple – he wants to just have fun and enjoy the moment.
He’s also an under-15 Dandenong Stingrays’ player and hopes to follow that progression all the way to the TAC Cup level and possibly beyond in years to come.
Capping off his representative duties will be his turn-out for the South East Juniors at the AFL Victoria Metropolitan Championships across this weekend.
Young wanted to thank his parents and family – especially his grandfather David for insisting he practice his left foot kicking – for their support of his footy journey.
The SSA under-15 football championships run from 18 to 25 July.
