WHILE MOST footballers get to spend theirevenings relaxing, watching TV or listening to music, Collingwood’s Ben Reidreturns home from training to a school tutor. Reid and his housemate NathanBrown are finishing their schooling by correspondence, so English and mathshomework constantly awaits them.
“It takes its toll, because you train everyday and then you’ve got to go home and do your schoolwork. It’s a bit tiringbut I’m getting through it,” Reid says.
Reid also lives with first-year players BrentMacaffer and Tyson Goldsack. He says the four young players make a competitivehousehold.
“We all push each other along and make surethat we get the best out of ourselves. There’s usually a little bit of banter.We’re always telling each other we’ve got to play good this week and work onour games, that sort of thing. Or we’ll have a joke and say, ‘I kicked moregoals than you’,”
Not that it’s all football talk at home.Reid admits that the boys enjoy the odd bit of retail therapy.
“We go shopping together. Browny’s got thebest taste. He’s a bit of a pretty boy. He loves himself a fair bit. He triesto make himself look good for every occasion.”
Drafted with the Pies’first pick in the 2006 AFL National Draft (No.8 overall), Reid isn’t just the youngest member of the Collingwood squad, he’sthe youngest listed player in the league.
But at the tender age of 18 years and justover three months, he’s already played two games for the seniors, making hisdebut in round 13 against the Hawks in place of the injured Anthony Rocca.
“When [coach] Mick [Malthouse] told me during the week that Iwas playing, I had four days to wait until the game … which was nerve wracking,”he says. “I was more nervous the night he told me than the night before [thegame] because I’d probably been thinking about it too much.
“I remember whenI ran out onto the field, Alan Didak ran up to me and said, ‘Go out there anddo what you do and enjoy it and it will happen’. That’s what I did. As soon asI’d done a lap with the boys I was fine. It was just like routine football.”
Reid also played inround 14 against the Saints and then returned to Williamstown where he’s beensince.
He’s played 12 gamesthis year in the VFL and kicked 12 goals, mainly as a leading forward. Hekicked a season-high four goals against Werribee in round 11, and has impressedwith his marking on the lead and his athleticism for a tall player.
But it’s been his twoweeks playing senior footy that have motivated him more than anything.
“I’ve had a tasteof it now. I want to get back in. You play a couple of games and you think, ‘Thisis pretty good’, so you just want to work even harder at training to get backup and have another shot at it.”
