Almost every Chelsea fan will have spent time daydreaming about what it would be like to pull on the famous blue shirt and emerge from the tunnel at Stamford Bridge. That dream has become a reality for childhood Blues fan Aggie Beever-Jones.
Others in her situation would’ve been crushed by the initial rejection she received from the Chelsea Academy - but not Aggie. She picked herself up, dusted herself down and tried again, never deviating from her path.
Hers is the story of a local girl obsessed with playing and watching football, accompanying her family to Chelsea matches at Stamford Bridge long before she signed professional terms with the club.
‘My grandad was a season ticket holder here, and I think it would alternate between him and my dad taking me, or sometimes it was both of them,’ the striker, who has just penned a new deal until 2030, explains.
‘My grandad was a black cab driver, so he'd know all the tricks of the trade to get there quickest and avoid traffic. We used to come and watch the men’s and women’s teams. When I watched the women play, I never thought it would be me one day.
‘I was born in Carshalton. I would be in the garden, kicking a ball around, probably being made to get out of the house for breaking stuff.
‘In terms of my earliest memories of playing actual football, it was at my local park, Joseph Hood, with the boys in Sunday Little League, having a kickaround. Chasing a ball around like a headless chicken, really!
‘I then got scouted to trial for Chelsea, and at that time, I was also playing for Wimbledon girls. It feels like a full-circle moment for me now that we're going to be playing at AFC Wimbledon next season.
‘I remember distinctly when we were playing at Staines, before Kingsmeadow, and watching Eni Aluko, Fran Kirby, Millie Bright, even [Erin Cuthbert](/en/teams/profile/erin-cuthbert), and it's crazy now to have been that young kid who was a mascot and walking out with them to now having Millie as someone who I call my friend.’
Her journey to the Chelsea Academy was far from plain sailing. She explains how her initial trial went and tells a story that has only become an amusing one now that she has become a professional.
‘When I initially trialled, my dad – and I'll never let him live this down – actually took me on his little Vespa down the A3, and we got lost. I was fuming at him!
‘I did eventually get there, but I think there was an email which said they weren’t going to accept me at all for that year, but it told me to come back the following year. I came back, trialled again, and then I must have been maybe nine or ten when I got in.
‘I guess it just shows that if you continue to work hard and progress, then you can get in the second time round. Now I look back, and this is my 13th season at the club.’
All the pieces of the puzzle have now fallen into place for Beever-Jones, but it took a community of people to support her dreams and help her to eventually secure a place in the Chelsea and England senior sides.
It’s well known that the Chelsea Academy facilitated her journey to becoming a professional, but she tells us that her schools also played a big part in her development.
‘I was fortunate enough that my primary school at Wimbledon Chase let me play with the boys,’ she says.
‘I remember one day I had to play with the girls, and I caused a right scene about it because they were plaiting hair in the middle of the pitch when I just wanted to play.
‘My secondary school, Hall School, was also great. I was a bit of a cheeky kid. I had a PE teacher who really helped me and put me forward to play with the boys. I’d get clattered pretty much every game by the boys because I'd do stuff they didn’t expect.
‘I have nothing but love for the school and the teachers there who really helped me and shaped me. I played for the academy three times a week, maybe with a game after school. I remember sitting my GCSEs and then quickly heading to Paris to go play in a tournament.
‘We played PSG, and it was one of the greatest memories for me growing up in the Academy. We also went to Dallas, Texas, for a tour with the Academy. I was very fortunate to have those experiences. I give huge credit to my mum and dad because they took me to games and back and forth to stadiums. It's so nice that now I can repay them for all that, and my brother and sister, too. They are so important to me.’
The final part of Aggie’s journey to becoming a professional saw her make the transition from the Academy to the first team. It was another big step that wasn’t easy to navigate.
With that in mind, she has naturally fostered a nurturing role as she advises younger Academy graduates when they make that same move to join the first team.
‘The Academy is something I always look back on with such fond memories because it really shaped me into the person I am today,’ said Beever-Jones.
‘I remember when I came to the first team, I was feeling really scared at first. I was starstruck in my first session. I couldn't kick a ball because I was so nervous and just wanted to do well.
‘When I was 17, I made my debut against Aston Villa. It really gave me a taste of what being a pro was like, and from that moment, I was sure it was what I wanted to do.
‘Then, on my 18th birthday, I was called in for a meeting. I thought I was in trouble! But actually, they wanted to offer me a professional contract. I was smiling ear to ear, thinking, 'It's finally happening!'
‘That’s why when the Academy girls come to first team training, I like to make sure they know they can always come to me, as I was one of them.
‘I love when Academy kids come through and do well because I think it's a credit to the pathway we have.’
There is no finer example of that than [Aggie Beever-Jones](/en/teams/profile/aggie-beever-jones).