The Football Australia Boys National Youth Championships commence next week on Monday October 2, being hosted by FNSW at Valentine Sports Park for the first time in a very long time. MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz, who won the U15 age group last year, as well as Manly United First Grade Assistant and SAP Coach Gonzalo Naya Vaghi, will both be leading teams in the 2023 tournament (NSW U16 Metro Blue and NSW U15 Metro Blue respectively).
Eugene said he was looking forward to the challenge of trying to go back to back with a brand new squad, but that there were actually other more important objectives, as the National Championships are an opportunity for players to be scouted, including for National Youth Team (Joeys) consideration.
“These are the best players in the state for their age, so the quality is very high, and this makes it a good challenge for us as coaches to help our teams play at their best collectively, as well as create a platform for each player to showcase what they are capable of individually. So far our training program has gone very well, and the boys can’t wait to start.”
19 coaches from MWFA, all of who have been participants in our Future Coaches Program in the last few years, were also given the opportunity to visit state team training a few weeks ago, to see the level of detail that goes into the planning, as well as the entire process on the pitch from start to finish.
There are 6 players from MWFA clubs across the four metro squads, all of whom also came through Manly United.
- U15 Metro Blue: Sebastian Jolly (Curl Curl) currently playing for Western Sydney Wanderers
- U15 Metro White: Zac Mascolo (Beacon Hill and Dee Why) currently playing for Western Sydney Wanderers, and Zac Harrison (Mosman) currently playing for Sydney FC
- U16 Metro Blue: Marin France (Curl Curl) currently playing for Sydney FC
- U16 Metro White: Jasper Chipman (Wakehurst) currently playing for Manly United, and Joseph Lacey (Curl Curl) currently playing for Sydney FC
If you would like to come along to support the teams, see here for fixtures: https://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news/national-youth-championships-2023-fixtures-announced
MWFA would like to wish all of the players and coaches the best of luck for the tournament.
