A VICTORIAN Football Select Boys’ squad made up of talented U13 and U14 players – which includes no less than 11 youngsters from the Geelong region - has made headlines in the local press during its recent trip to Japan.

The Victorian boys, who are tour to the Fuji and Yaizu regions, made the local Fuji News after they met the Lord Mayor of the City of Yaizu.

The two squads are playing against local academy and school teams as well as taking part in cultural experiences.

The tour’s aim was to expose players to a new way of playing and a new style of professionalism and development. FFV will also benefit from enhanced relationships with international programs and exposure and learning from different methods of junior development.

At the end of the day, however, it was all about the football and the young Victorians performed exceptionally well. In particular, the older group which went on to win the Yaizu Cup in the U/14 boys section.

In total, a squad of 34 players went on the tour, the majority having been involved in Football Federation Victoria's Talent Identification and Development Centre (TIDC).

The Geelong contingent include U13 Squad members Julian Majic, Tae-min Brandwyk, Jett Nestorovski, Hugo Leban, Kooper Wright, Benjamin Portbury and Rocker Ramage who are all from North Geelong’s U13s NPL program.

The U14s include North Geelong players Jackson Lane, Angus Chapman and Bob Green, while Kane Shum from the Geelong Rangers was the only other player from the Geelong region selected.

Julian Majic and Tae-min Brandwyk, although chosen to represent the U13 squad, actually played  for the U14 team for some of the games including the Yaizu final.

The tour departed Melbourne on August 14 and returns this week.