Despite not earning a professional contract at the end of last season, Lewis Carr jumped at the chance of a further year with the youth scheme in favour of seeking first-team football further down the non-league pyramid, and now has his sights set on a place in the Cambridge United first team.
The central defender admits that joining the likes of former team-mate Piers Wixon in the Blue Square South crossed his mind, but he adds, "I sat down with Jez George and he was offering the best options. He knows me best and it's guaranteed security for another year".
After beginning pre-season with an injury, Lewis, now a third year scholar, has gone from strength to strength and he netted the winner in the opening fixture of the season - a 2-1 win against title favourites Kirkley & Pakefield. The athletic centre-half stole in at the front post to ensure the scholars got off to the best possible start.
Two seasons of regular Ridgeons Premier League football make Carr an old head in Jez George's side, and the CRC captain expects this experience to stand him in good stead for the coming season. Like his team-mates, he has high hopes for the campaign, yet offers a cautionary note: "If you take your foot off the pedal it (the division) does punish you."
A notoriously tough league where physicality can rule, Lewis explains, "You have to look after yourself, but first, get into their heads". However, gamesmanship is not something the former Rushden youth player is overly concerned with: "Don't say 'I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that' - just do it." It is an attitude that embodies the whole youth scheme; actions speak louder than words.
Discussing his captaincy of the side, Lewis admits, "It keeps the pressure on, but it's a nice pressure to have. It's good to take on responsibility." And that responsibility isn't limited to the green rectangle, as he explains: "It's a 24/7 lifestyle and you can't just stop; how you are off the pitch is how you are on it."
Looking to the future, the pacy teenager insists, "I'm aiming as high as I can go - I'm not going to get to League Two and say 'that's fine'."
But more imminently, should the call from Gary Brabin come, Lewis would be quite confident in his ability after two seasons as a regular in the CRC side, initially at right-back, before forming a watertight partnership with Josh Coulson as the young team escaped relegation.
And Lewis is complimentary of Brabin's new set-up at Cambridge United, saying, "He's a lot more involved - Jimmy Quinn was more distant". A working relationship between youth team and first team is, of course, mutually beneficial and healthy, with guidance coming from all angles.
In closing, the eloquent Leicester-based defender is keen to reinforce his desire to progress and his passion for the sport: "It's brilliant to do this, I'm taking every year as it comes and I'll wait until I get told 'no'!"
Henry Milward
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