Secondary Boys
Shepard Chivambe, Declan Collins, Shaun Mukwhevo, Julian Anfuso, Evan Ludgate and Dylan Rogers from South Coast Baptist College, were recently selected to participate in the State Schoolboys, under 16’s National Championship for Football. The boys undertook trials before being selected for the team, they were given the opportunity to go and show the other states in Australia what they’ve got.
After a long wait, the boys headed over to Shepparton, Melbourne, where they were ready to take it to the field. The first day, the boys had a rough start, they versed the reigning champions from 2017, NSW. The SCBC Boys did all they could, but unfortunately, they lost 5-0. This did not stop them from being confident about the rest of the tournament.
Over the next few days, the boys were raring to go. Taking it onto the field, they beat their next contenders, Queensland, 2-0. This lifted their spirits tremendously and they were able to continue into the next day with good form. Over the next few days, WA bought their A game and was able to defeat SA, VIC and ACT in their next three games, this allowed them to finish the tournament on 12 points. In doing so WA was able to bring home a silver medal. The standout players, Shaun Mukwhevo and Declan Collins, earn themselves a spot on the Australian Shadow Squad. Finishing off a fantastic week for both WA and the SCBC Boys.
Reflections by Football Academy Players
Harper Collinson (Primary Girls)
On Saturday the 15th September 2018 the U12 Girls State Football team traveled to Glenwood, Sydney. We stayed at the Quest Apartments. We played at Valentine Park, won two games, drew one and lost four. I scored one goal against the South Australian team and we ended up winning that game 4-0! We had to win our last three games to come in third but lost two of them. Queensland took out the competition without anyone scoring a goal against them. WA came 5th, tied in with Victoria. Scott Halpin, our coach, helped us a lot by teaching us new techniques and challenging our game. I hope to get in next year for another great opportunity.
Charli Wainwright (Secondary Girls)
At the age of 14, trailing for an Under 18 Female Football State Team was intimidating. After a series of trials, I was eventually selected to represent my State in Shepparton, Victoria. As the youngest in the team, I was honored to have the privilege to represent my School and my State in the competition. A few weeks after being selected, I was on a plane flying over to Victoria ready to do my State and my School proud. We arrived in Melbourne and traveled two hours by bus to eventually arrive in Shepparton.
After settling in, we had a long training session to prepare ourselves for the next few days. Our first game was against New South Wales, we tried our best, but we were eventually defeated 5-0. After the game, the girls and I knew how hard the week would be but also how much effort was needed from us during each game. The next game was against Queensland, unfortunately, the final score was 2-1 to Queensland but the girls kept their heads high and were ready for the following game. South Australia put up a fight, but it wasn’t enough as we came through with a fantastic 4-0 win. Our following game was against Victoria and we were struck down when the score was 2-0 to Victoria at halftime. We followed through in the second half scoring two goals to even the score. Our last game was against the Australian Capital Territory. In order for us to receive a 3rd place medallion, we needed to win the game. The score was 1-0 to Australian Capital Territory at halftime. Despite the weather conditions we pushed on and scored 2 goals to win us the game.
We received our medallions later that day and finished third, bringing home a bronze medal. I cannot thank the school enough for the amount of time and effort they put into every training session that helps me improve as a player and as a better teammate. I was pleased with the experience and would do it again. I’m happy with my results and the results we performed as a team. It was a pleasure to represent my State, my School and my family over in Victoria.
Harry Stonehouse (Primary Boys)
On the 12th May 2018, I attended the first trial of six at Woodvale Secondary College for the State School Boys under 12’s Football 2018. At the trials, there were over 80 boys trailing out from all different clubs to represent WA in Sydney in September. I enjoyed the trials as we did drills and games. When I heard that I had made the team I couldn’t wait to start training with my teammates. On the 15th September 2018, we left WA with our families to go to Sydney for the tournament. We had a tough first day against NSW and SA in very hot weather. On day two we had a better day against NSW2 and QLD where we came out determined and all played fantastic football together. Day three we played the NT and VIC where we won both games – a first in 8 years for WA against Victoria. On the educational excursion, we went to the Sea Life Centre, Madame Tussaud’s and Luna Park. The last day our game was against ACT which we also won leaving us joint 5th in the competition. Playing in the School Boys Football was a great experience, living at the hotel with my teammates I gained a lot of friends and I really enjoyed the training and meeting people across all States at the competition. Last Saturday we had our wind-up at Tony (my coach) house where we all received our medallions and had a BBQ. It was great to see everyone again and we will all definitely keep in touch.
Jack Sparkes (Primary Boys)
On the 22nd September 2018 my team and I went on a trip to Sydney to play in the Australian School Sport Championships in Valentine Park. We all got on the plane early in the morning about 6.00am. We had a growth mindset going into this competition. When we arrived in Sydney we boarded the bus which nearly took two hours because we had the wrong directions. We finally arrived at our hotel in the late afternoon, we went to dinner then prepared for our first two games the next day. We woke up feeling confident and ready for the game. Our first game was against NSW. The skill level was nothing I’ve ever seen in my life, we came out losing about 5-0 in the first game. We never knew how good these teams were going to be. We knew we still had a chance though. Our next game was against SA, in my opinion we could have won this game, but I don’t think we wanted it as bad as they did and we came out losing 2-0 but we played much better. The next day we came out hungrier than ever and everyone knew we had this. Our first game was against NT, we knew their weakness, so we tried a new thing. They controlled the game in the first half and then in the second the ball got crossed and I got it on the back post and put it in. I was so happy, we deserved to get in front. I’m not too sure the order of the games but I remember winning 3-0 in that game which was well deserved then we won our next game against VIC which WA haven’t beat in eight years. It was 1-1 and then I popped it in the side netting. It was one of the best moments of my life. We celebrated eating at a Sizzler, but we only ate healthy! The next day we had two more games. I’m not sure about the order but the last day we only had one game and we versed QLD and I think we won that game. This was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Thanks so much to all of the coaches that have helped me. My South Coast Baptist College coaches: Mr Posthuma, Coach Adi, Chris Thackeray, Matt Brooks and James Harmer. Also, lots of thanks to coach: Toni Carvajal, Paddy Rooney, Paul and Marshy for the help, and lastly Mandurah City Football Club for helping me to improve and Perth Glory development. A big thanks to Jack Grayson for helping me the most. I’m really excited to see what the future holds for me.
Sam Byrne (Secondary Boys)
On Saturday, 22nd September 2018, I was on a plane, heading over to Coffs Harbor, to play Football in the National Youth Championship. We arrived in Coffs Harbor just after midday, hopped on a bus and 30 minutes later at our hotel.
Two days later it was game day. Unfortunately, it was raining all day. We arrived at the stadium early, so we could join the crowd in watching the game before us. While watching we realized that the pitch had large puddles on it. Our tournament started off slow and we lost 2–0 to Brisbane Roar. That night we all had a good sleep, woke early and were ready for the day ahead. We knew today’s game was going to be tough, we were up against Capital Football, but we came out on top and won 2-1. We had to recover quickly as we had a second game to play against NSW. We went in strong and in high spirits off our last win. However, unfortunately, we lost 3-0.
We knew we had another two games the following day and we wanted to win. So, we got some rest and came back the next day ready to win. We came up against South Australia Blue first, who had a very strong team. However, we came out on top with a win 3-2. We had a quick rest before our second game and again put our all in against Victoria, Country, and came out with a 3-0 win.
We finished the really happy and celebrated at dinner. The next day was going to be the hardest yet. It was our last two games and we knew we were going up against two great teams, Victoria Metro and New South Wales North. We played our worst game against Victoria, losing 6-0. We were all disappointed and carried that into the next game, losing 2-3. We all knew we had played our worst games on this day.
Overall I had a great experience at the tournament and would like to thank my coaches Matt Brook and Brad Hasell for coaching me. I’d also like to think Sean Darcey, the team manager, my parents for getting me to the tournament, South Coast Baptist College for helping me develop in Football which gave me the opportunity to go, Mandurah Football Club for helping me develop in Football. I’d also like to thank Matt Brook and Chris Thackray for making me feel comfortable whilst I was over at the tournament.
