According to Max Kondogiannis' schoolboy coach, Andrew Hamilton, the 18-year-old has done a lot of growing up over the past few years.
Taken by Essendon with pick 36 in last year's AFL Draft, Kondogiannis is one of three Bombers that will debut on Friday night in a Round 1 blockbuster against the Hawks at MCG.
Despite not being the best player in his year level as a middle-schooler, Hamilton claims Kondogiannis had an inner confidence in his ability to play footy, and importantly, get better.
"I coached him as a Year 8 kid and he was incredibly chirpy at that age. My assistant coach at that time was Ben Jepson, who is on the Suns' list. Ben was playing for Coburg at the time when Max was in Year 8 and he just chewed his ears off," Hamilton said.
"He had so much energy.
"This inner confidence was there as a Year 8. Sometimes, as a Year 8, that can come across in a negative way, where people want to critique these kids for being full of themself. We know that they need to have that inner self-confidence and that's what he's always had. It was a challenge as a Year 8 coaching him, because the confidence wasn't quite matched up with what he was putting out on the footy field at that point."
Hamilton said that was a valuable lesson for Kondogiannis, one, with maturity, he has learned from.
"It just held him in good stead, year on year, into our open footy program, to the point where he becomes a Vic Metro representative, was on the edge of All-Australian selection, gets drafted in the second round and is now set to debut on Friday night," said Hamilton.
"It's awesome to see that confidence met with work ethic and commitment, plus reflection and detail, and all those things I'm talking about."
Hamilton said being handed the Carey captaincy also helped Kondogiannis, who embraced the role and showed natural leadership qualities.
"Max is an incredibly switched on individual," Hamilton remarked.
"He treated footy like a subject, really. He was journaling, note taking, reflecting. He would turn up to meetings with me with his notebook. He was very diligent and detailed, almost hyper-focused at times in the way he went about it.
"Obviously, we named him captain and he was a great captain for us. He balanced expectations and relationships really well, which can be a struggle in schoolboy footy; it's not easy for an 18-year-old to have some hard conversations and drive standards, but also have that mateship, care and love. He was awesome in that regard.
"It was my first year as head coach, last year, and he was a huge support for me. The way he saw the game and his footy IQ was really impressive, and his willingness to pass that on and provide suggestions on training drills, strategies, tactics... he was hugely invested.
"He sees the game really well, and even though he's a debutant, I think you can expect to see him instructing and be communicating, because that's what he naturally wants to do."
Kondogiannis averaged nearly 19 touches per game across his top-age season with Vic Metro and the Oakleigh Chargers.
He has won a place in the Bombers' side after a solid pre-season and an impressive cameo in a loss to the Saints in their AAMI Community Series clash in Ballarat last month.
"I just can't wait to get out there on Friday night, compete with the boys in front of a huge crowd and fulfil my childhood dream,” Kondogiannis told the Essendon website.
"I was told in the team meeting, Andy McGrath was up in front and called my name out. I worked closely with him over the summer, so it was special to hear it from Andy.
"I still can't really put it into words how special it is. The Club is one of the biggest clubs in Melbourne, so to be able to represent Essendon and run out on Friday night is something I'm really proud of and can't wait for."
Hamilton believes Essendon fans will quickly become fond of the Oakleigh Chargers product, who boasts many attributes.
"He was our trampoline of half-back. He set us up, regularly, and that's where we launched our offence from primarily when we were at our best," Hamilton commented.
"He's got a beautiful leg on him, he can slice and dice and change lanes really effectively.
"He's a very good thinker of the game, so he's able to adjust in-game.
"He loves the strategy and the tactics and is very thirsty for knowledge."
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