The summer months have passed and they went rather well for Bristol Rovers prospect Jerry Lawrence, who made his first start for the Gas in Tuesday's EFL Trophy draw at Plymouth Argyle.
The 17-year-old started pre-season as one of several under-18s players training with Joey Barton's squad, but the midfielder has done the most to advance his claim and the milestones have followed. He scored in the opening game of pre-season, travelled to Portugal for the training camp and did enough to remain with the first-team squad for the start of the League One campaign.
His progress has not gone unnoticed by Barton and his backroom team, who have noticed his confidence on the ball in training. "He’s got a lot of ability and he’s really impressed the coaching staff since he’s been in," first-team coach Andy Mangan said.
Lawrence has made the matchday squad for all but one of Rovers' games so far this season, making a brief debut as a substitute in the 4-0 win at Burton Albion last month before starting alongside Paul Coutts and Jordan Rossiter in the centre of the park on Tuesday night, when he provided the assist for Ryan Loft's opening goal in the 1-1 draw.
"It was a great experience playing with the first team," Lawrence said. "I’ve been waiting for it and I’m really happy. I found out on Monday in training that I would be playing. I was calm. I think that’s the way you should go into it because I’ve been playing football all my life. It’s nothing different.
"I’m training every day, I’m trying to prove myself and show the manager I am ready and good enough to play.
"The speed was definitely much higher than 18s football and the intensity with a lot more running. It was little things about the intelligence of the game, tactics and stuff. It was much more difficult than with the 18s. I got a bit more comfortable in the game. You want to play freely and they told me at half time to play my game and enjoy it.
"I know with the gaffer that if you’re good enough, you will get a chance, so I’m going to keep trying to prove myself and hopefully I’ll get more chances. I’m taking it week by week, not getting to high or low, and working as hard as I can in each training session and game and hopefully I can play as much as I possibly can."
The journey from junior football to the professional game is not easy for any player, Lawrence included. He was actually rejected by Rovers after a trial for the under-8s. Four years later, he would go on trial again and won a place in the under-12s squad.
He was a standout player in the under-18s group last season and was named academy player of the year. The step up to the first team from there is huge, but Lawrence started to believe he had a chance of breaking through as the summer went by.
"About half of the 18s squad went in with the first team in pre-season and I think the gaffer just wanted to look at us a bit," he said. "What really made me think I had a good opportunity is I went on the tour to Portugal. It made me think I am in and around it when I was training more frequently.
"When I came back, they told me I was staying until the end of pre-season and that’s ended up staying until now during the season."
There are perhaps few better places in the EFL for a young midfielder to be learning his craft. The likes of Glenn Whelan and Paul Coutts are excellent role models and Lawrence is making the most of their knowledge.
"It’s great," he said. "I can ask them questions because they’ve got so much experience. They are great players and they know a lot about the game, so in training I always ask them for advice and they always give me great answers.
"Paul Coutts, the captain, he’s a funny guy, but he’s also a very good player and he takes me under his wing, but honestly all of them do, Glenn Whelan as well."
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