Lilly Skelly and Brianna Norris are among the first members of the Southern Tablelands Football Association to tread the new development pathway which has opened up to local female soccer players.
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The pair have been selected in the Under 14s (Skelly) and Under 17s (Norris) squads for the South Eastern Phoenix FC, which will soon become the only regional club to have sides in the National Premier Leagues Two NSW Women's competition.
The Phoenix launched its new Women's Football Development Academy last week, which will be based in Goulburn and headed up by Norm Boardman.
STFA director, Craig Norris, hopes the example set by Skelly and Norris can inspire more local girls to sign up for the new program.
"I think the academy will also open the doors for the players and the coaches," he said.
"They'll go 'we can do this, let's have a crack'."
The Phoenix is a new iteration of what used to be known as the Southern Branch Football Academy. In his capacity at the head of the new academy, Boardman will be able to utilise his more than 40 years of football expertise to improve the skills of young women in southern NSW.
"The participants will have opportunities to be taught using tried and tested teaching methods designed to assist the youngster's game awareness once again developed through years of working with young players and attending football coaching programs around the world," an STFA statement read.
"The STFA/SE Phoenix Academy also provides learning opportunities away from the field with a home training program and ongoing feedback through progress reports and parent education on what their children should be focusing on at that stage of their child's development."
Rather than using age groups to gauge the type of instruction needed, Boardman has, in his 40 years of experience in the game, developed programs which are often based on the skill and experience levels of the participants.
The academy itself will begin on Wednesday, March 3, at Cookbundoon. Along with 14 weeks of high quality coaching, players who sign up will receive a ball, a Phoenix Academy playing shirt, a progress report at the end of the term, and a home training program.
Those who wish to see more of the Phoenix's players and the standard at which they compete can do so tomorrow, February 21, when they will play a series of warmup matches at Cookbundoon.
These matches are in preparation for the 2021 NPL Two Women's season, which is the second-highest level of football in NSW. The season is scheduled to get underway in April.
For more information, please visit the STFA's Facebook page, or sign up by clicking here.
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