Alex Henderson
Age: 16
School: Belfast High School
Hometown: Limavady
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Coleraine
What's your sporting highlight to date? Playing in the Victory Shield.
Who is your sporting hero? David de Gea
Any secret talents? I'm good at the high jump as I won the Ulster Championships a few years ago.
Matthew Williamson
Age: 15
School: Hazelwood Integrated College
Hometown: Crumlin
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Linfield
What's your sporting highlight to date? Playing for Northern Ireland in Colliers Park in Wrexham in 2019 in a UEFA tournament.
Who is your sporting hero? Ben Foster
What is your favourite cheat meal? Would have to be a Chinese!
Rian Brown
Age: 15
School: All Saints College
Hometown: Belfast
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Portadown
Best team you have played against? Ajax
Who is your sporting hero? Manuel Neuer
Billy McDowell
Age: 16
School: Belfast High School
Hometown: Coleraine
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Coleraine FC
What's your sporting highlight to date? Representing my country at international level, particularly in Victory Shield.
Best goal you've scored? Scored from my own net in a 9 a-side friendly.
Best team you have played against? Spain
Jack Wilkins
Age: 14
School: Carrickfergus Academy
Hometown: Bangor
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Linfield
What is your favourite cheat meal? McDonald's.
Your sporting highlight to date? Playing for County Down.
Lorcán Donnelly
Age: 14
School: Rathmore Grammar School
Hometown: Belfast
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Cliftonville
What's your highlights of your time at the academy to date? Meeting Ian Baraclough and getting an insight into the Northern Ireland senior men's team.
What's your sporting highlight to date? Being selected for the JD Academy and winning the Foyle Cup.
What is your favourite cheat meal? Pizza
Josh Roney
Age: 16
School: Belfast High School
Hometown: Tandragee
Position: Defender
Club: Linfield
Highlights of your time at the academy to date? Having the opportunity to have a Q & A session with international manager Ian Baraclough.
What's your sporting highlight to date? Representing my country at school boy level in the Victory Shield and in other international friendlies.
Best goal you've scored? A late equaliser against Rangers in the 2018 SuperCupNI for Club NI.
Bobby Harvey
Age: 14
School: Belfast High School
Hometown: Lurgan
Position: Defender
Club: Linfield
What's your sporting highlight to date? Winning NI Cup for Lurgan Town against Glentoran.
Who is your sporting hero? Virgil van Dijk.
Best goal you've scored? A volley against Glentoran for Lurgan Town.
Josh Briggs
Age: 14
School: Blessed Trinity College
Hometown: Belfast
Position: Defender
Club: Linfield
What's your sporting highlight to date? Playing in the SuperCupNI.
Best goal you've scored? Free-kick from halfway line.
Who is your sporting hero? Virgil van Dijk.
Brendan Hamilton
Age: 14
School: St Malachy's College
Hometown: Belfast
Position: Defender
Club: Glentoran
What's your sporting highlight to date? SuperCupNI final.
Best team you have played against? Barcelona
Best goal you've scored? Schools' Cup final.
Kai McCormick
Age: 14
School: Carrickfergus Academy
Hometown: Ballymena
Position: Defender
Club: Linfield
Highlight of your time at the academy to date? Meeting Lee Cattermole.
Sporting highlight to date? Getting to the Madrid Cup and being captain for some of the games.
Caolán Donnelly
Age: 15
School: Blessed Trinity College
Hometown: Dundalk
Position: Midfielder
Club: Cliftonville
Highlight of your time at the academy to date? Being able to get the Northern Ireland bus to Windsor and do ball boy for Northern Ireland against Germany.
What's your sporting highlight to date? Playing for Northern Ireland in the UEFA tournament.
Who is your sporting hero? Roy Keane.
Francis Turley
Age: 14
School: St Malachy's College
Hometown: Belfast
Position: Midfielder
Club: Glentoran
What's your sporting highlight to date? Winning the league with Ardoyne.
What's the best team you have played against? Barcelona.
What's your favourite cheat meal? McDonald's.
Cormac Austin
Age: 14
School: St Mary's Grammar School
Hometown: Belfast
Position: Midfielder
Club: Linfield
What's your sporting highlight to date? Playing an international tournament.
Who is your sporting hero? Xavi Alonso.
Best goal you've scored? Against Cliftonville.
Reece Lyttle
Age: 14
School: Belfast Boys' Model School
Hometown: Belfast
Position: Midfielder
Club: Glentoran
What's the best goal you've scored? A free-kick against Rangers FC.
What's your sporting highlight to date? Scoring against Linfield.
Best stadium you have visited? Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Christopher Cope
Age: 15
School: St Malachy's College
Hometown: Castlewellan
Position: Midfielder
Club: Glenavon FC
What's your highlights of your time at the academy to date? Being ball boy at the Northern Ireland game.
What's your sporting highlight to date? Being captain for NI against Germany.
Best goal you've scored? Free-kick vs Oliver Plunket in the last minute of extra-time to win 4-3.
Ethan Sousa
Age: 15
School: St Mary's Boys' Christian Grammar School
Hometown: Newry
Position: Attacker
Club: Dundalk
What's your sporting highlight to date? Getting picked to play for my country.
What's the best goal you've scored? Goal from outside the box for Dundalk to win us the league.
Highlights of your time at the academy to date? The training sessions have improved me mentally and physically.
Callum Marshall
Age: 15
School: Belfast Royal Academy
Hometown: Glengormley
Position: Attacker
Club: Linfield
What's the best goal you've scored? Scored an overhead kick in the All-Ireland final against Cherry Orchard while playing for Glentoran.
What's your sporting highlight to date? Scoring winner against Juventus few years ago.
Who is your sporting hero? George Best.
Luca Doherty
Age: 15
School: Belfast High School
Hometown: Limavady
Position: Attacker
Club: Derry City
What's the best goal you've scored? My best goal was against Portadown U16s for Northern Ireland from outside the box, top left corner.
Who is your sporting hero? Marcus Rashford, he is an inspiration on and off the pitch.
Jay McDowell
Age: 14
School: St Mary's Boys' Christian Grammar School
Hometown: Banbridge
Position: Attacker
Club: Linfield
What's your sporting highlight to date? Playing Barcelona. Even though we lost 4-0, it was still a lethal experience.
Are you enjoying being part of the Academy? Yes, definitely. It puts us through our paces.
Do you play any other sports apart from football? I played Gaelic football before I came to the academy.
Players in action
