Players, parents, coaches & managers put in a huge effort to juggle a hectic weekend of football. Some players in the U13 & U14 teams played more games as they elected to help out these HSA teams which were a little short on players, hence they played 6 or 7 matches in two days for both teams. Sure, there were other options, but these players felt they were up to the task. The respective teams are thankful of your efforts. Thankfully, the players are fit and there were no injuries. With so many games in a short period of time, there will certainly be many tired players today.

The U15 Boys team put in particularly strong performances, winning 3 of their 4 matches. The boys put on a thrilling performance in their last match on Sunday night. The keen Highlands crowd were on the edge of their seats the whole match. Paul Debono made a confident and loud call in the stands that all the Highlands supporters heard "the first to score will win the match". Well Paul, you were spot on. The boys scored first at 15 minutes and soon followed with another goal at 25 minutes. However, the 2 - 0 half time lead did nothing to quell the nerves in the stands. The boys however continued to play what is probably their most consistent effort together yet, as they've come up through the age groups over previous annual Championships. The players, coaching staff and crowd were ecstatic when the ref blew the full time whistle in the Shoalhaven United stadium with the Highlands U15 Boys winning the match and Branch Championship with their 2 - 1 win against Shoalhaven. The U15 Coach (Gordon Boyd) had tears of complete joy seeing his charges of the past 3 years achieve what he has always believed they are capable of. You should all be very proud of your achievement.

Since the HSA U15 Boys team are the Southern FNSW Branch Champions, they will now compete in the Football NSW Country State Championship representing Southern Branch on June 6 & 7 in Goulburn. Details will be posted ASAP.

U10 Coach (Andrew Ross) was pleased with his teams performances overall. The team played 5 matches in 2 days. Quite an effort for these young players who are playing their club football in the SSG 7-a-side format and playing their Rep football on full size fields in 11-a-side format. The experience of the Championship will stand these players in good stead for next year. Coach Ross is scoping other tournament opportunities to help continue the players' development in preparation for 2010. Well done to all.

The U11 team had a rollercoaster ride through the Championships. They won their first and fourth matches and had a tight result in their second match. The team won their third match 8 - 0 yet lost their last match 0 - 7. It is difficult for the players to maintain focus and energy over the weekend with so many matches. It wasn't always possible for the U11's to play consistently. However, the team can be proud with their overall performances. U11 Coach (Mick Wane) was most pleased that the team were able to experience the Championship matches with periods of play were the technical skill was dominant. Great performance boys.

A remarkable performance was turned in by the HSA U12 Girls at the Championship. The months of rep training has improved the technical skill of players and significantly improved the teams tactical play. The U12 Girls coach (Nick D'Amore) has delivered a football experience that has inspired the girls to play some thrilling matches. The girls finished third in the Championship. If not for the gruelling schedule, the energy depleted girls would have won more matches. Though, what they did achieve, is much better than that. The girls played good technical and tactical football against physically stronger teams - sometimes winning, but always finishing the match happy, knowing they played good football. Terrific performance girls.

Anybody watching the U12 Boys matches will know that the U12 Boys Championship was overall a tight contest.  The HSA U12 Boys turned in strong performances in every match. They drew their first match v's Shoalhaven 2 - 2 after leading 2 - 0 at one stage. They went on to win and draw two more of their matches. The boys were narrowly defeated 2 - 1 by the Champions (FSC). If not for brief lapses in concentration in the matches, the points table would look differently. As it was, the boys finished third in the Championship. Coach Andrew Bell was upbeat and positive with the boys' performance. "I am very happy with how the boys played and conducted themselves. Everyone has enjoyed the experience of Championship football" said Bell. Tremendous effort boys.

Coach Neil Caswell  did well to structure the U13 team tactical plan with player availability. A couple of players played both U13 & U14 reps, in an attempt to balance the squad numbers and tactical plans of both teams. With no pressure placed on the team to win every match, the coach was free to experiment with some tactics and structures. Most of the players also play regularly in the Highlands FC team in Illawarra competition. So the Championship presented an opportunity to work on team structures as well as allowing the players to be scouted by Southern Branch coaches on their technical skills. A number of the boys were in fact spotted by the scouts and have been asked to attend trials. Proving that the team has the goods to win matches, the team won their last match convincingly 8 - 2. Well done boys.

U14 Boys Coach (Curtis Campbell) was surprised at the overall performance of the team at the Championship. Whilst confident the team has the ability to win matches against the strongest opponents, he was not so confident it could be done with with no subs. Coach Campbell went so far as to also reduce the pressure on the boys whom also play regularly for Highlands FC in the Illawarra, by focusing on the player & team development opportunities. Coach Campbell was pleased with the performance. Intensity of play was not always on display from the boys, but they deserve a big rap for playing three exhausting matches with plenty of heart. Of the three matches played, HSA U14's won two and finished runner-up U14 Champions. Exceptional performance boys.

HSA All Age Women team Coach Brett McMahon and Assistant Darren Farr assembled and prepared an HSA Women's rep team in under a month. Amazingly, the team performed very well. There was no hint of such short preparation time in the teams performance. The team played three matches. In two of which, they trounced the opposition 9 - 0 and 5 - 0 in very strong performances. The third match on Sunday was against the FSC U18's team. This match was going to decide the Branch Champions, as both teams were on equal 6 pts leading into the match. The match itself was a very skilful performance from both teams. Both teams fought for the ball in the mid field with both teams making their best attacking play down the wings. HSA had more shots on goal throughout the match. HSA sustained a 20 minute period of thrilling attacking football in the second half without a goal coming their way. However, FSC were able to make more of their chances throughout the match, winning 3 - 0. The HSA All Age Women's team are the runner-up Branch Champions. HSA are very proud of you all.

Any team publicity reports and photo's for any HSA Rep team can be forwarded to Nick D'Amore ( coachcoord@hsa.org.au  ) or Andrew Bell ( vpadmin@hsa.org.au  ). From there, HSA can coordinate publishing these reports in the Southern Highlands News and on this website.

You can find all the match results and tables for each age group at the Southern FNSW website: www.southernnswfootball.com.au/sob/hgresults.cl?PT=xxa