Alton College pupil Brett Cooper has already experienced the special atmosphere of a big FA Cup match when he played at right-back for Aldershot Town against Dagenham last month.

Although Conference side Dagenham eventually ran away with the match 4-0, the thrill of playing in front of 2,549 spectators at the Rec has remained with the 17-year-old.

"It was scary and quite nerve-racking, but brilliant as well. The pace was quite hard because Dagenham's forwards were so quick, although I was quite happy with the way I played."

It was a thrill for Brett just to be playing against Mark Stein, the former Chelsea forward, as he pursues his own ambition of becoming a professional one day.

Brett is one of the growing band of teenage players being groomed by Aldershot, but is not part of the PASE development scheme that allows young players to study at Farnborough Tech while playing youth and reserve football for the club.

Instead, the former Mill Chase School pupil has continued his education at Alton College, joining his team-mates for training on Thursdays and playing for the reserves and youth sides.

But first-team manager Terry Brown is quite prepared to call on youth when his senior players are affected by injury or suspension, and so it was that Brett Cooper found himself selected for first-team duty.

He started the Hampshire Senior Cup local derby against Farnborough Town (Aldershot won 2-1) and has twice come off the bench in the league. Opportunities are obviously limited, but Brett is happy with the situation. "I'm just pleased to be part of the squad and content to be called up when needed."

Brett, who lives in Bordon, started his football with Headley Down Boys, where he played from Under-8s to Under-14s.

He was picked for the Aldershot Schools District side and also played for Hampshire Schools.

He has been a regular for Aldershot Reserves for two seasons and was elevated to the first-team squad after making a good impression during the pre-season tour to Devon.

He is not on the books of any Football League clubs and says he is content to play for Aldershot and see how things develop.

Simon Pullen and Martin Kuhl, Aldershot's football development officers, have been the biggest influence on his career so far. "They are brilliant coaches. And Terry looks after me and gives me plenty of encouragement."