TEENAGER Ben Stevenson is taking his debut season in the Sky Blues first team by storm and has been one of few positives to come out of a disappointing 2016/17 campaign for Mark Venus’ side.
The 19-year-old is the latest player to graduate through the club’s hugely successful academy and is now stamping his mark in the first team having already amassed 21 appearances.
Observer sports editor Steve Carpenter sat down with City’s young starlet to find out more about the young midfielder and his path into the professional ranks.
LIKE most footballers Ben Stevenson took up the sport from an early age and was thrown into the academy system at the tender age of eight after impressing Coventry City scouts while playing in a football tournament in Nuneaton.
The following day he was on Coventry’s books along with fellow first team star George Thomas and from then on the pair exchanged lifts from Leicester to the Alan Higgs centre as their journey towards turning professional got underway.
“The trial for Coventry was at night – I think it was a Monday – I just did a session and then one of the scouts called me over with George Thomas, who was also playing at the same time, and the club said they wanted to sign us both.
“I got told on the night that Coventry wanted to sign me and I’ve been here ever since.
“When I first came I remember ‘Madderz’ (James Maddison) being here and the Kelly-Evans twins too. Cian Harries came when we were playing in the under-14s and we’re all still here now.”
Stevenson and his new team mates worked under the stewardship of Academy manager Rich Stevens and eventually under-18s coach Jason Farndon.
As they progressed up the ranks they were seeing the likes of Cyrus Christie, Conor Thomas, and Callum Wilson all coming through the youth ranks together and making their mark in the first team.
It was motivation for Stevenson and his friends who are now all picking up regular appearances in the first team.
“We played together all the way up to the under-18s and I think we’ve made each other player better in the age groups because we know where we’re all going to be.
“You get the on the same wavelength and you understand how each other plays – you know where they’re going to be on the pitch.
“We all broke into the first team around the same time and I think being together with them helped because we’d played with each other for so long.”
Close friends Ben Stevenson and former Sky Blues midfielder James Maddison. (s)
One player Sevenson became close friends with from day one was James Maddison. The Coventry kid burst onto the scene a year before Stevenson and his performances last season earned him a big money move to then Premier League side Norwich City.
The pair not only look similar but they also play in an almost identical style, with Stevenson opting for a more defensive role, and they played alongside each other at every level up to the under-21s.
“We’re close mates and I speak to him most days. We’ve always been close since we started at the club really when we were eight-years-old.
“When James got his breakthrough in the first team I used that as motivation to get myself into that position.
“He’s always helped me as we’ve gone along because we’ve played with each other for so long. Whenever we played together we always knew where each other would be on the pitch. We’d always help each other off the field too.
“It would have been good if we had played alongside each other in the first team but there are still lots of players here who I’ve played with for over ten years so it’s good to be around all of them.
“I can see the similarities between the two of us because we’re both the same type of player. We’re both more technical players I think, we like to get the ball down and play and control the game.
“We’ve always had the same physicality too so we’ve had to work hard on our technique to improve that element of our game.”
Stevenson has modelled his game on Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick and he looks up to another former Sky Blues Academy player as his role model.
“The players I’ve always looked up to most is Michael Carrick. When he was at the top of his game he never gave the ball away.
“I looked up to him and I’d like to think I’m a similar type of player.
“Bigi (Gael Bigirimana) was another player I looked up to when I was younger before he left. Even now that he’s back he’s still a good role model to me because he’s been there in the first team and he went up to Newcastle too.
“I think he’s a real leader. He’s always giving me advice and help on the pitch – I do like playing with him.”
Ben Stevenson pictured with fellow academy graduate Cian Harries. (s)
Former Sky Blues boss Steven Pressley can be commended for helping to bridge the gap between the youth team and the first team.
The likeable Scot gave several academy players their first opportunity in League One and he was the manager who invited Stevenson to take part in his first ever training session with the first team.
“I think I was playing for the under-16s when I trained with the first team for the first time.
“Most of the first team players were training and Steven Pressley was there too. I’d never been to Ryton before so I didn’t really know what to think.
“I just went straight out to training but it was such a massive step up from playing for the under-16s. It helped me a lot in terms of my experience.
“When you see the levels of a first team training session that’s when you realised you’ve still got a such a long way to go and you’ve just got to keep improving and keep getting better to get to those performance levels.
“Cian (Harries) and James (Maddison) were there too so it was nice seeing my mates there. They were knew to it too so we helped each other out.”
A series of impressive performances for the club’s under-21s last season caught the eye of former manager Tony Mowbray who offered Stevenson his first professional contract in March last year.
A one-year deal was just reward for the teenager’s efforts but he was quick to thank his family for their help and support.
“Signing my first professional contract was rewarding but not just for me. For all of those years I used to get taken to training three times a week, you sort of lose out on your childhood really because you have to sacrifice quite a lot.
“My mum has sacrificed a lot too because she’s the one who had to take me training and it’s not really round the corner from where I live. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday she had to take me to training to I think it’s rewarding for my family too.”
“I support Manchester United but to be fair once I joined Coventry City they became my club. I used to sit in block 32 so to sign my first professional was a great feeling.”
Tomorrow read more as Stevenson looks back on his big breakthrough season, describing his emotions as he made his long-awaited debut and discussing his future plans.
