Bristol Rovers second-year apprentices James Spruce and Alfie Clarke have been offered their first professional contracts by the Sky Bet League One club.
The pair have been prominent figures in the Under-18s side before experiencing senior football in the Southern League, both enjoying a spell at Larkhall, with Spruce also spending time at Cinderford and Farnborough.
Academy Manager Jonathan Henderson told the club website: “We are delighted that another two young players have been offered the opportunity to continue their footballing development with the club.
“It is a great achievement for them to be rewarded with a contract for next season and, hopefully, they can continue to progress as others have in recent years, to have an impact on our first team. It also shows our continued commitment as a club to invest in talented young players.
“For those players who haven’t gained an offer for next season, our focus now becomes about supporting them in finding other opportunities going forward whether that be trials at other clubs, support in looking at educational opportunities or simply providing them with support to move into the workplace.”
Lead Professional Development Phase Coach Tom Parrinello added: “Over the last two years, Alfie and James have shown a fantastic willingness and desire to improve and progress and they are both thoroughly deserving of the contracts they have earned themselves.
“We, as staff, are absolutely delighted for the boys and feel it shows that, with the right desire to improve, and the right mentality to work hard coupled with the ability to perform at a consistently high level you will reap the rewards.
“We have worked a lot this season on individual and collective standards within the group, both on and off the pitch, and Alfie and James epitomise everything that a young aspiring professional footballer should do in order to get to the next step of their development.
“They set a fine example to the first years and the younger players that have been involved throughout the season, whether that be on the pitch through excellent performances or off the pitch doing additional bits and pieces to gain any advantage possible.”
