Last weekend Football SA Junior NTC players were joined by their coaching staff, team manager and three parent volunteers on a trip to Berri.
This trip provided a perfect opportunity for a new Junior NTC squad to take part in pre-season team bonding, while it provided an opportunity to showcase the Football SA Girls Pathway Program to a regional area. The team was joined by U15 Boys/U17 Girls squads from the Riverland Soccer Association.
During their trip, the team was divided into groups, with each group having to run a team-building exercise that included all players and coaching staff. The exercises were spread across the weekend and proved to be very successful, with the girls producing some very well prepared and creative exercises that were challenging and proved a lot of fun for the participants.
The group also attended the Berri Sports Stadium on Sunday to watch the local Futsal association in action. The association kindly offered the girls a court for a demonstration of their Futsal skills.
A training session was hosted on the morning of Sunday the 20th with three Riverland players (Macey, Matilda and Mikayla) who are also a part of the FSA Girls Part-Time U14 squad participating in the session.
The Riverland Soccer Association were fantastic in their support of this initiative. Their ability to organise the grounds, the officials and coordinate the travel arrangements made the trip as smooth as possible. Additionally, they provided lunch for the players and hosted a delicious dinner in Loxton on the Saturday night. They could not have done any more to make the group feel welcome.
Football SA Girl’s Technical Director Cristiano Dos Santos Rodrigues quoted:
“It was a fantastic experience for the players and great to visit regional areas and support their local football and Futsal, which exposes their local players to what the football pathway can look like.
