THE schoolyard at Aquinas College is filled with students are running around kicking the footy, dreaming that they could one day be AFL players.

But one student, Liam Shiels doesn’t have to use his imagination, having already played three games for Hawthorn with many more to come.

Shiels – the youngest player in the AFL this year -is juggling his year 12 studies with his first season on an AFL list and says he is enjoying combining the two.

“It’s not too bad. It can be challenging at times but time management is the key. The club works closely with the school to develop a balanced timetable so I follow that,” Shiels said.

Shiels is studying the bare minimum four subjects at the Ringwood school while spending one full day a week at Hawthorn. But with mid-year school holidays, he became a full-time member of the Hawks – playing the past three games.

But his regular schedule is tightly coordinated so that he never neglects his studies.

“I train at Box Hill on Tuesday nights. I normally get a weights session done on a Monday after school. I go into the club and do weights and recovery by myself. I have Thursday at the club and then Friday back at Box Hill,” he said.

Shiels admits he has had a bit of extra attention in the school yard, more from the junior students who have no inhibitions in quizzing him about the life of an AFL player.

“I get a little bit from the younger year levels but most of my mates don’t give it much attention apart from giving me a little flak,” he said.

“I get 101 questions from the younger guys about what training is like, what certain players are like. All that sort of stuff. It’s good fun.”

And Shiels has no plans to finish studying when Year 12 finishes, with a landscape architecture course in his sights for next year.

He says he has been enjoying the start to his AFL career despite Hawthorn’s limited success.

“It has been an awesome opportunity to get a couple of AFL games under the belt,” he said.

“It’s not too bad. The confidence might be a bit down but we’ve got to work hard and stay positive to get the most out of the rest of the season.”

The chance of Shiels playing a senior game this season seemed unlikely when he was drafted but a spate of injuries opened the door for the 18-year-old.

But he is aware that he is the most likely player to make way when the more senior players return.

“With all the players coming back I probably won’t hold my spot in the team. I’ll keep playing at Box Hill and if I can get a senior game it will be awesome. I’ve just got to keep going the way I am. It’s working pretty well.”