Last month saw Glory’s Under-15 side head to Canberra to compete in the National Training Centre Challenge tournament and our youngsters certainly did themselves and the club proud.
They played a total of six games against Queensland, Newcastle Jets, Victoria, the ACT and two New South Wales sides and emerged with four wins, one draw and one defeat, a record which was the best of all the teams involved.
Unsurprisingly, Glory’s Community and Development Manager, Callum Salmon, was delighted with the performances and results.
“The NTC Challenge is a high-quality tournament which provides numerous opportunities for on-field player development and off-field learning,” he said.
“The schedule of two games each day against top-class, well-coached teams, was very demanding and reflected the Challenge’s status as the toughest junior tournament in the country.
“Our team did extremely well off the back of the high-quality program that they had participated in during the season under the guidance of John Gibson, David Butterfield and myself and every member of the group performed to a high level.
“Daniel Walsh, Nick McDonald and Ciaran Bramwell were among those who produced especially strong performances throughout the week.”
Salmon’s sentiments were echoed by Glory’s Head of Football Jacob Burns, who feel that the team’s displays in Canberra were reflective of what is a thriving youth set-up at the club.
“We won the NTC Challenge despite coming up against the traditional powerhouse sides from Victoria and New South Wales,” he said, “and that shows that we are now in a position where we can genuinely match it with the best in the country.
“A large number of our young players are set to represent their country, as many already do and that is testament to the effort put in by both them and our coaches alike.”
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