Pre-season training camp funded by Erasmus+

Aberdeen U18s step up their preparations for the new campaign when they travel to Portugal this weekend. The pre-season training camp is an Erasmus+ funded trip. Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth, and sport in Europe.

Dylan Lobban, who will captain the U18 side this season, spoke to afc.co.uk to look ahead to the trip and the season ahead:

“Our first two days in Portugal will be hard sessions but once that is done, we will have games to look forward against good teams. The training will be good. We play two games including one against Hull City U18s. It will be a good learning experience.

“We were in Portugal for a tournament back in March and that was really good. I thought that we could’ve done better. If we had won our first couple of games, I think we could’ve made it to the final. It was a really good experience, playing against some tough teams.

“As part of this trip we have had a couple of Portuguese lessons, it has been fun! Learning a new language is always good. We’ve had a couple of lessons that hopefully we can put to use.”

This is Dylan’s second pre-season as a full time professional as the U18 side are put through their paces by Barry Robson and Scott Anderson at Cormack Park:

“I hurt my toe when I was away with the Scotland U17 squad in Israel, so I got a bit of an extra break. I wasn’t at my fittest when I came back after being out for quite a while, but I have definitely kicked on. My fitness is a lot better now with all the hard training we have done. I am feeling really good.

“Barry’s pre-season sessions are very tough.

“The first week was extremely hard! I was having an ice bath every night because my legs were sore. Once that is done, you feel good, you feel fit, and it is all about getting ready for the season ahead. We normally have double sessions on a Tuesday and really hard single sessions for the rest of the week. We then work our legs in the gym just to top it up. We are certainly a very fit team, Barry demands that from us.

“We have some new players in the squad who have all settled in well. We all get on really well, it is a really good group. We do some head tennis after training, we meet up away from Cormack Park, we go for food, we go down to the driving range too, we get on well.

“As captain I do feel a big responsibility helping the boys to settle in and to show them it’s a good group and they can get on with each other. Everyone that has come in I think has settled in well.

“As captain I like to lead by example, but I do shout a bit, especially at the refs! I got a few too many bookings for dissent last year, I was sent off for dissent so I will need to stamp that out.”

The majority of players in the U18 side last year were a few years younger than players from opposing sides but it is an experience that Dylan believes will stand the squad in stead for this upcoming year:

“I gained so much experience last season. I learnt a lot, playing with younger players and also playing against older boys. I am not the biggest guy myself, so they are going to be bigger and stronger. It is about how you adapt your game to that; you need to move the ball quicker for example. It was a good learning season but hopefully we kick on this year.

“It will make us a lot stronger this year. We are more of a collective group now, we all train together and we can get better as a team. We have got a really good group. I am confident that we can go and have a successful season. I am looking forward to it.

“As well as having a strong league campaign I hope that we can have a good run in the SFA Youth Cup. I know about the history of the competition and the prestige that comes from winning it. That has to be an aim this season. It would be great to get to Hampden.

“I am looking to play in the Aberdeen B side this season. They have got Brora Rangers away next month in the SPFL Trust Trophy; they got a good result against them last year in this competition and we hope that we can do the exact same, although it will be very tough.”

Dylan was named on the bench for the first time against St Johnstone for the senior side towards the end of last season and Dylan got a taste of first team football last week when he came off the bench against Brechin City in a pre-season friendly:

“It was really good to play against Brechin and to be on the pitch with all the first team players and they are all speaking to you. But you need to take responsibility as well and if they make a mistake you need to tell them as well. Everyone in the first team makes you feel welcome.

“Seeing the likes of Calvin Ramsay doing so well and Liam Harvey making his first team debut makes me want to break into the senior team even sooner and it makes me want to work even harder.

“I hope to make my competitive first team debut this year and to kick on from there and to be involved with the first team squad a lot more.”

Erasmus Aims

• Aim 1: To offer our players a positive experience of European travel, match experience, training and culture with a view to increasing and developing adaptability to different surroundings and circumstances.

• Aim 2: To have high quality and uninterrupted preparation to prepare for the second half of the football season developing the players technical, tactical, mental, emotional and social skills.

• Aim 3: To allow the players and staff to compete against foreign opposition so they are challenged against different styles of play in their respective roles as players and staff.

• Aim 4: To allow the players and staff to learn in depth knowledge of other European countries and the cultures associated with them.

Previous Benefits to the Club and the Players

• Opportunity to play matches versus Continental teams and undertake coaching sessions in a favourable climate for football offered increased learning opportunities.
• A purpose-built training facility which offers training pitches, match pitches and indoor gym and pool facilities on-site, thus allowing coaching, strength and conditioning and pool recovery sessions.
• Provided a platform on which team relationships were built.
• Opportunity to deliver previous training programmes abroad allowed our coaching and playing staff to improve their understanding of different styles of playing and coaching. The club have been successful in sourcing quality opposition for matches in previous Erasmus funded development camps. These past experiences aided the development of our young players who continue to aspire to compete at the highest level in football and on an international stage.
• Previous Erasmus funded outings to Antequera (January 2010) and Vilamoura (July 2011), Austria (2015), Lisbon (2016) and Spain (2018) were extensive and offered our young players excellent opportunities.

Youth Academy Graduates – Erasmus Programme Participants

Erasmus ‘graduates’ who have featured in the First Team include: Fraser Fyvie, Peter Pawlett, Michael Paton, Clark Robertson, Nicky Low, Mitchel Megginson, Jack Grimmer, Ryan Jack, Chris Maguire, Ryan Fraser, Cammy Smith, Declan McManus, Hallur Hansson, Jamie Masson, Craig Storie, Joe Shaughnessy, Scott Wright, Scott McKenna, Connor McLennan, Dean Campbell, Daniel Harvie, Frank Ross, Ethan Ross and Connor Barron.