Tom drives 1600km a week to play soccer

BY THE time Tom Lloyd finishes his first season at local soccer club Surf Coast, he will have travelled enough kilometres to take him around the world twice.

Tom, 16, lives in Mt Gambier, in South Australia  for him, football is a permanent away game.

Tom completes an 800km nine-hour round-trip twice a week, coming to Torquay for training on Thursdays and for matches each weekend.

"On Thursdays I leave school at about 12.30pm, then drive straight to training then drive home afterwards, and then go to school in the morning," Tom said.

"I arrange with the teachers to get the work beforehand so I don't fall behind."
Tom is a talented player, and after not finding enough competition in South Australia, he decided to test himself in the Football Federation Victoria Under-18 West North West B competition.

After quickly establishing himself as the top scorer in his side, he was selected regularly for the Surf Coast senior reserve team, and has recently appeared as a substitute in the first-grade team.

"The competition is a lot better here in Victoria," he said. "I'm really enjoying it  there's a lot more opportunities to develop as a player.

"Mum said that she wouldn't drive all this way unless I really wanted it, and I do."
Tom's mum, Diane, says that although it's a long trip, she's happy to do it in order to give her son the best chance in his football career.

"The first time I came up for a Thursday night and then a weekend, I was pretty tired, but Tom has his licence so he does a bit of the driving," Mrs Lloyd said. "Because the car is on gas, and we can stay at a house in Geelong, it's probably on par with what we were paying for tournaments and accommodation in far flung places all around South Australia, and it's much better competition here.

"We're not super parents  we're just trying to do the best thing for our children."

When Tom is not in Victoria, he can be found coaching Burmese refugees as well as running football sessions with children aged between two and 10 after school.

Tom's under-18 coach Mark Strickland admitted that he was apprehensive about taking on someone travelling from so far away, but his only fear now is losing him to the senior side.

"I thought that travelling that sort of distance would be very hard to maintain twice a week, but we've been really impressed so far," Strickland said.

"The dedication from him and his parents has been really fantastic and I think he can go a long way."

This article has been reproduced form the Geelong Advertiser

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2011/07/01/266025_news.html

 

TOM LLOYD STARS

Tom Lloyd played his first game for Surf Coast United today setting up a goal as his team won 2 goals to 1.

Lloyd was a dominant figure up front in his first game for the club.

THE ROUND BALL SHINES

The Round Ball senior squad

The Round Ball under 17 squad

Mount Gambier's Community Football Project The Round Ball concluded its summer training program with a stunning result in their final hit out for the summer against the under 17 Geelong Champions The Breakwater Eagles at Whitehorse Park, Geelong on Sunday. The emphatic result has set tongues wagging in Geelong with talk that the Mount Gambier outfit was so exceptional it could be competitive in the metropolitan Melbourne under 18 competition.

CEO of the Round Ball, Scott Dickson was impressed with the result however he was not surprised by their performance. "This is an exceptional squad, and without a doubt one of the strongest I have worked with" said Dickson. "This group of players is exceptional and the great thing about them is they still have so much to learn." Dickson added.

"It was a great win on Sunday morning but I was more impressed with our 2 1 loss at the hands of North Geelong Warriors under 18 squad on Saturday."

The Round Ball led for the majority of the game against a very strong North Geelong outfit after taking the lead through a Alex Bissell header from a corner take by Alex Sims. the game played over three, thirty minute thirds saw The Round Ball hold their own against one of the strongest teams in the Melbourne competition and take the lead at the 35 minute mark when Bissell nodded home from just outside the six yard box. the Round Ball went close to extending their lead minutes later when Mark Judd's free kick from 30 yards out grazed the roof of the net. With ten minutes to go The Round Ball conceded a goal from a corner and minutes later fell behind when Matthew Pilven conceded a penalty with a rash challenge just inside the box.

In the final minutes both Tom Lloyd and Tom Weedon both had chances however it was not to be. "The boys were fantastic and deserved at least a draw." Dickson added. North Geelong Warriors under 18 coach Ante Didiluca was full of praise for The Round Ball and how far they have progressed in such a short time, "They really shocked us, I expected scott's boys to be good but never that good, they were exceptional. I havn't worked with The Round Ball for over 12 months and i cannot believe what scott has done with them. The last time I saw them they were okay and as a result of that game we signed Callum Ferguson, Tom Weedon was only 12 and Bissell was just developing. Now they know how to play the game, they pass and move, hold and press and dictate the tempo like metropolitan teams which is a huge testament to Scott's ability as a coach." Didiluca added.

"I was very pleased with the boys, North Geelong were physical and know how to play the game. They are well drilled and have great coaches that we can learn from, for me though the most important thing about this result as it is the first time that we have really been competitive with a strong metropolitan side of the same age cohort. For years when we have played the same age group we have not been able to compete, in fact several years ago I can remember teams playing against local sides and over age players being required, this squad has shown we can compete at the highest level."

The result on Sunday goes even further to stress Dickson's point. "On Sunday we played the current Geelong Champions and led 2 nil at half time. We gave 13 year old Jake Blackwell and 12 year old Sam Shoemark the opportunity to have a run in our under 16's and they showed they were more than capable of playing at that level. Jake scored a cracker in the first half from outside the 18 yard box and Sam scored two in second half. The score is not important", Dickson added, "we pushed the ball around very well and tore them apart in the second half. Alex Sim's was outstanding as was Dylan Murray and Cody Chapman from Portland and Josh Kourmouzis was an absolute rock at the back"

The Round Ball will now break for the winter and the players involved in the project will return to their local clubs. "i am looking forward to seeing the mark they make on the competition, it has been along summer which has included triumphs at the South West Games and a recent win over Gambier Centrals senior squad. I am very excited about next summer and can't wait to see what this squad can achieve in the future." Dickson concluded.

TOM LLOYD SET FOR NEW CHALLENGE

Round Ball Star Tom Lloyd will be under the microscope this weekend when he lines up The Round Ball against North Geelong. Lloyd is set to play for Surf Coast under18s against North and this game will provide Lloyd with an opportunity to see the competition first hand.