Being the son of Stevenage’s record appearance holder whilst coming through the club’s academy can come with its own pressure, Louie Henry admits.
But for Henry, son of Ronnie, his career is dictated by his own choices and not his Dad’s, so when the opportunity arose to make his first steps into senior football on loan at Potters Bar Town, he took his chance.
“My Dad had a successful career, so I hope to follow in his footsteps,” Henry says.
“I’ve got a lot to live up to, but he’s been telling me I need to create my own path, it’s my own career now and I need to not let whatever he’s done get in the way.”
Ronnie endorsed the move to Potters Bar Town on loan, a switch that saw Henry placed into the Isthmian Premier League, the 7th tier of English football.
Henry, who joined Bar aged just 17, impressed at left back for the Scholars despite it being so early on in his career.
The opportunity to move there came his way after he beat the side that signed him just a few days before.
After impressing in a 2-1 win over the Scholars with Stevenage in the Herts Senior Cup, Henry was soon snapped up and sporting a maroon shirt.
“The move came up after playing against them, so then I’d been there and liked what I’d seen around as well as the manager, there’s quite a young there squad too,” Henry says.
“At this stage of our careers, Step 3 is the sort of level we want to push into and get some minutes in, so everyone at Stevenage was trying to show the Potters Bar manager we were good enough.”
Making his debut in a defeat against Horsham, what Henry walked into, barring a disappointing last week, was a side in incredible form.
“Everything went well when I joined, players and staff just welcomed me how I needed as someone new,” says Henry.
“I was already halfway through my season, but I had to jump straight in and get on board with what was going on because everyone was already in full flow.”
It was a new test for the Boro academy boy too, having grown up in the Stevenage academy.
“Because it was my first time going to another club since joining Stevenage, who I joined at under 9s, it was quite different for me,” Henry adds.
Bar went from strength to strength during his time at the Lantern Stadium, going unbeaten in all of the eight games Henry played in after Horsham, including beating Cheshunt 2-4 away from home in the derby and signing off with a cameo off the bench in a 6-1 thumping of Kinsgtonian.
Henry looks back on his time at the club fondly, and says it was the experienced players like defender and FA Trophy winner Rickie Hayles and star striker Brandon Adams that helped him to settle in at the club.
The experience playing in front of bigger crowds, away from the academy setting where only parents watched, was also vital to Henry.
“People actually pay to come and support the club and help out, you have to pay them back with results,” says Henry.
“Being at big grounds like Dulwich’s, it’s something that I’d love to do again probably.”
Given manager Max Mitchell’s notorious strategy to work with a young squad, Henry says a return to Bar may not be off the cards.
“I’m going to get ready for the next season with Stevenage, and if an opportunity arises yet again for Potters Bar or elsewhere, I’ll definitely be looking,” Henry says.
“But Potters Bar definitely has something over everyone else, because I’ve been there and it’s been so good, so if it comes again I’d definitely join and pick up from where I left off.”
Whether he returns or not, Henry showed his quality despite his youth at Bar, and has made promising first steps in his career with an early loan in non-league.
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