AFC Bournemouth
Cherries under-18s defender Max Kinsey-Wellings has felt he has thrived under the high standards of being involved with the development squad.
With pre-season set to come to a close in the coming weeks, the centre-back has faced a busy schedule since reporting back in June.
As part of Alan Connell’s under-18s squad, the 17-year-old has also been a mainstay for Shaun Cooper in the development squad.
“I’ve loved it; I’ve loved every minute of it,” he explained to afcb.co.uk.
“Coming back in and working hard, especially with the development squad as well, demands high standards and I like being with the best.
“I’m just trying to be a better player and having games week in, week out – normally two but sometimes three – I love it.”
With a handful of development squad appearances now under his belt, his involvement came as a surprise to Kinsey-Wellings but one he feels was a result of hard work.
“It wasn’t something I was expecting to be involved in,” he said. “I just came back in, worked as hard as I possibly could and hard work gets you where you want to go.
“I gave it my all and in the first week or so, I got the call up to the development squad for the first time and kept progressing from there.
“I’m using that confidence and positivity to drive me forward and to keep going.
“Playing with better players, it drives you to be a better player and especially in the development squad, all of the lads are so nice and so welcoming.”
This Saturday sees both the under-18s and the development squad in action with different sorts of tests in the offing.
Connell and his team face Wimborne Town’s first team away from home (12pm kick-off), while Cooper and the development squad face QPR’s under-23s at Canford Park Arena (12pm kick-off).
While Kinsey-Wellings could be involved in either fixture, the centre-back sees the Hoops as another strong pre-season test for the development squad.
“If I’m involved, I think that will be a great test again,” he said. “It’s a category two academy and another test for the boys.
“We’ve had two defeats in a row where I don’t think we should have lost, so that will be a really good game for the team.
“We need to show character to show that we can bounce back.”
Picture courtesy of Ian Middlebrook.
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