SAPSASA SOCCER 2011 – Media Release

During Week 8 (June 20-24) I travelled to Adelaide with Andy Shoemark to help coach the Girls and Boys SAPSASA Soccer teams at this year’s State Carnival.  We each took a squad of 14 players, with various playing experiences and abilities, aiming to compete strongly whilst having fun in each game. 

It was very much a case of contrasting fortunes.  The Boys, ably coached by Andy, contested each game but lacked a cutting edge and a few additional ball players to make any real impact on the Division 2 ladder. 

Despite hitting the ground running in one of the opening matches of the week, missed chances cost the team dearly.  Only at the end of the week did the draw against Riverland, as opposed to the win they deserved, ensure that the team was relegated to Division 3 by a solitary point.   

They battled hard throughout the week against some taller, tougher opposition, notably City South & Western districts but without much luck.  I was really impressed with Matt Sykes who kept goal bravely; Jordan Milligan & Beau Nunan who showed good technical ability; Henry Shoemark and Jacob Ellis who performed solidly at the back and read the game very well, as well as Kyle Pitson who led the team from the front and provided some great leadership for the relatively inexperienced team.

There could not have been a much greater contrast with the fortunes of the Girls.  They played 7 matches in Division 3 and remained undefeated, scoring 20 goals and conceding only 3, which propelled them to the Runners-Up spot behind a very strong Salisbury East team.  This was a fantastic achievement and I was extremely impressed with their attitude, commitment, team spirit and willingness to play for each other.

There was a distinctive character about the team as many play locally for County Under 14s in the WBWSA.  Across each game a new player would tend to stand out above the rest which was really pleasing. By the end of the week the team had gelled nicely and I was able to play several players in a number of different positions – thereby highlighting their versatility. 

Ashley Tye kept goal comfortably, whilst Hayley Edwards was a solid contributor at right full back.  Lauren Ross found an eye for goal as well as providing impetus for our attacks with some excellent long throw-ins.  Bree Thomson showed terrific composure for such a young and inexperienced player, whilst her “big sis” Shae led the team superbly and also led our team’s scoring.  Finally, I would find it difficult not to mention Lauren Smith who was a gun left winger and Georgie Peate who ran pretty much everywhere and distributed the ball excellently from wherever she found herself!!

All in all, it was a great week, an excellent learning experience both on and off the field; most importantly everyone had fun, staying relatively dry if somewhat cold!  Special thanks must go to Guy Detot who helped coach the Girls prior to the trip to Adelaide and to all the parents for their unstinting help and support over the busy week.

Team Manager/Coach … David Cole (Teacher, Tenison Woods College).