WILL Hoskin-Elliott is too young to enter the AFL National Draft later this year.

But the 16-year-old is already making giant strides towards achieving his ultimate dream after being named in this year’s 30-man AIS-AFL academy squad.

For Hoskin-Elliott, a bottom-aged player with Western Jets in the TAC Cup competition, the chance to potentially follow in the footsteps of recent graduates Jordan Gysberts, Tom Scully, Jake Melksham and Michael Hurley came unexpectedly.

The program runs across 12 months, including a one-week camp in Canberra, and helps prepare players for a career at the top-level.

“I was pretty surprised. I was stoked,” Hoskin-Elliott said of his latest achievement.

“Ever since I was little, I have wanted to play AFL, so it is a big dream for me.”

The on-baller rated his season with the Jets a “seven out of 10”.

But it has been interrupted by a broken thumb, which ruined his hopes of representing Vic Metro in the national championships earlier this year.

Hoskin-Elliott will receive tuition from the likes of Jason McCartney, Matthew Lloyd, and Michael O’Loughlin at the AIS.

The West Sunshine resident will also have the comfort of knowing a team-mate, Elliot Kavanagh, is also in the squad.

“There’s someone that I know there, so that will make it a bit easier. But you’ve got to make friends and get out of your comfort zone as well.”

Hoskin-Elliott has been in the Jets’ system for three years.

The Jets lost their first 10 matches of the season before showing great improvement. But their season ended in the first week of the finals on Sunday against Gippsland Power.

“The second half of the year has gone good, but the first half was disappointing. I thought we had a good team after the pre-season we had – it was pretty full-on.”

Jets coach Steve Kretiuk, a former Western Bulldog, said it was vital his young charger embraced the priceless chance.

“I think the most important thing for Will is to make sure he gets the most out of his opportunities. Not everyone gets these opportunities to go to the AIS,” Kretiuk said.

“What he has to do is make sure he gets as much out of it as he can. I’ve seen guys that have been in the AIS before, from the Jets, and they haven’t gone on with it.

“It’s important that he really takes it on board and he really needs to work as hard as he can, in terms of his fitness.

“He’s pretty good with his game knowledge, but everything they do there (at the AIS) is related to getting them to a level that’s pretty appealing for everyone. He’s got to concentrate on everything they speak about.

“He’s going to be sitting in classes for two or three hours at a time, maybe. It’s important that his concentration and alertness is there. In those environments, your attention can sometimes fade away.

“He’s got so much talent but, at the end of the day, talent alone is not going to get him drafted. He’s got to tick all the boxes.”