NPL Queensland’s elite young female footballers are aiming to turn heads – and more than a few opposition defenders – when they descend upon Coffs Harbour next month for the FFA National Youth Championships.

The state’s best Under 13 and Under 15 girls were in Brisbane over the weekend for a final selection camp, with the squads announced earlier this week for the five-day tournament.

The teams will face the best players in their age group from across the country and Football Queensland coaches Raeanne Dower and Rebecca Price are confident the NPL, and its adherence to the FFA National Curriculum, will have Queensland well placed for a strong showing at the tournament.

Under 13’s coach Dower admitted choosing between the state’s best young footballers for the final squad was a difficult task.

“There’s always hard decisions because the twenty-five girls we have (at the camp) are what we think are to be the best across the whole state,” Dower said.

With an AFC ‘A’ license to her credit, Dower is herself among the elite of Australia’s coaching talent and, as one of the highest credentialed female coaches in the country, well-placed to identify and further develop the potential of her young charges.

“Because this is a developmental age group – both the 13’s and the 15’s – what we’re looking at doing is trying to identify players with potential,” Dower further explained.

“We’re looking at playing a specific formation and trying to give the players the best opportunity to develop so they can fit into that formation and that programme which is underlined by the National Curriculum.”

Dower said the NPL was laying an important groundwork for Queensland’s young female football talent.

“Already, having seen some of the NPL teams playing from week one til now, you can see the development and the improvement in the players, and that’s across all the teams that I’ve watched.”

“Some girls are just starting out in that process - training three nights a week, focusing on fundamental skills – but you can certainly see in the three months already the improvement individually as players and collectively from those teams,” Dower enthused.

Dower eagerly highlighted the skills and strategies that underpin FFA’s National Curriculum and are a key component of coaching right across the National Premier Leagues age groups.

“We’re playing a 1-4-3-3 where players get themselves into positions where they can support the player on the ball,” Dower said.

“We’re looking at forming nice little triangles all across the park, we’re looking for players that can play out from the back and that are comfortable on the ball when put under pressure.”

“Essentially we’re trying to draw out those key skills – the ‘one v one’, passing and shooting and striking the ball. We’re also looking at their first touch, which is crucial, their positioning and their communication.”

The Under 15 team is guided by Brisbane Roar W-League player Rebecca Price, who combines her experience within the elite playing environment with an AFC ‘C’ coaching license.

Like Dower, Price was enthusiastic about the quality of the players at her disposal and the role the NPL is playing in developing the state’s next generation of elite female footballers.

“In the girls that are coming through you can really see they’ve been in a system and they’ve been coached by good coaches and learned a technique that’s ingrained in the way they play now,” Price said.

“They can play in multiple positions and they understand the game very well conceptually also - that’s what you see out there with the NPL girls.”

Price also acknowledged the disappointment that comes with not making the final squad, revealing injury ruled her out of Queensland youth sides early in her career before perseverance saw her play with the Roar for the past two seasons.

“I was always injured at the wrong time,” Price explained, “So I do understand how hard it is not being selected or being injured. I have a great sense of empathy for those players.”

Price however stressed the competition for places in the squad remains a real strength of women’s football in Queensland.

“Some of the players who don’t make it could potentially start for another state – that is the quality we have in Queensland and the quality Queensland always seem to produce in women’s football.”

“There are some really exceptional players out there and we’ve already had discussions among the coaches saying, ‘Yeh, I think she could play for Australia one day’ – those conversations are a real pleasure for us as coaches.”

Dower agreed: “Given the right environment I have no doubt some of these girls will go on to play for their country.”

The National Championships run from July 7th to 12th at BCU International Stadium in Coffs Harbour.

UNDER 13 GIRLS QUEENSLAND STATE TEAM 2013

TEAM: Abby DOUGLAS (Moreton Bay Jets), Ayana AOYAGI (FNQ FC Heat), Breanna MAXWELL (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Chloe PRIEDITIS (Souths Strikers), Clarece STRUDWICK (SWQ Thunder), Jodie BURCHELL (Palm Beach Sharks), Kaitlyn TORPEY (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Leah DAVIDSON (Palm Beach Sharks), Louise COYNE (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Maisie BERRY (Sunshine Coast FC), Mara JOHANSSON (Souths Strikers), Neve LYNCH (The Gap / Brisbane City), Paige RONCATO (Northern Fury), Tara O’KEEFFE (FNQ FC Heat), Taylor RAY (Northern Fury), Teani KARALOUKA (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC)

SHADOW PLAYERS: Aimee SCOTT (Sunshine Coast FC), Clementine ROUSSEAU (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Elli CHAPPLE (Northern Fury), Stephanie SOUNTAS (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Tiarna KARAMBASIS (Northern Fury)

COACHING & SUPPORT STAFF:  Raeanne DOWER (Coach) Catherine RONCATO (Assistant Coach), Robyn OORCHARD (Manager)

UNDER 15 GIRLS QUEENSLAND STATE TEAM 2013

TEAM: Ambrosia MALONE (Palm Beach Sharks), Arina TOKUNAGA (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Elise FRANCO (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Elly CASPAELLO (Northern Fury), Gabrielle HOLDER (FNQ FC Heat), Kirsty CLIFFORD (Sunshine Coast FC), Laura SEVIL (Palm Beach Sharks), Lucinda PULLAR (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Megan BYRIEL (Souths Strikers), Mikayla RALPH (CQFC Energy), Novella DENNIS (FNQ FC Heat), Rita MARSHALL (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Sophie FULLER (SWQ Thunder), Talita BREMERMANN (Northern Fury), Veronica PTAK-ZYLKA (Palm Beach Sharks), Zoe LAMBI (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC)

SHADOW PLAYERS: Bronte WATSON (CQFC Energy), Demi ROBINS (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Emma SARTOR (FNQ FC Heat), Grace VOGLER (Wide Bay Revolution), Kaytlyn RONAN (Western Pride), Mikaela FLETT (Central Brisbane / Olympic FC), Victoria MCDONALD (The Gap / Brisbane City)

COACHING & SUPPORT STAFF: Rebecca PRICE (Coach), Karyn LONGBOTTOM (Assistant Coach), Diane SHEAHAN (Manager)

 

Words and Images: Michael Flynn (Football Queensland)