| Wee Waa Trip a big success! | Men's Super League Teams |
Sydney University Soccer Football Club opened their 2007 campaign with a trial in the north-west of the state against the Wee Waa Warriors. Eight hours drive from Sydney and suffering one of the worst droughts in their history, the town, the people and the soccer club made us feel extremely welcome.
This idea of taking football to the country was a great success and was indeed made possible by the parents of one our leading goal scorers, A.J Swansbra, a Wee Waa local who has played for Uni in the Under 20’s for the past two years.
“I wanted to give the lads something different for a pre-season activity and this played out perfectly” new 1st grade coach Glenn Lockhart said.
Paul Swansbra, the owner of the property, involved the boys in irrigation work, harvester driving, and other cotton farm related tasks. The boys now realise how tough the life of a farmer is, especially during drought.
On Saturday a coaching clinic was run at Cook Park, home of the Wee Waa team. The clinic ran for two hours in the afternoon where temperatures reached 40 degrees.
Approximately 35 boys and girls of ages ranging from 5 to 15 attended. After the session a coaching clinic for the coaches was also conducted.
The following day at 10am, the trial was played. A big crowd turned out and was treated to some very entertaining football from both sides. “The warmth and the hospitality shown by the community towards us was a very, very humbling experience” Lockhart said.
The final result was a 6-0 victory to Uni, but the Wee Waa lads were not only gallant in defeat but performed very well given the short notice of the game. We wish them well for their season.
A.J. was made honorary captain for the game and contributed nicely scoring two and just missing a hat-trick with a well converted left footer only to be judged off-side by the linesman. Other scorers were Benny “Bondi” Lewis (2), Adrian “Sanchez” Hammond, and James “Wafer” Pearce.
I was proud of the efforts of the boys in stifling conditions and given the socializing of the previous night. It was noted that many of the team were stargazing and dancing well into the wee hours.
After the completion of the game we were then treated to a sausage sizzle at the Imperial Hotel, put on by the publican and his wife.
Some SU Sport caps and shirts were given to the organizers of the trip and some of the children were also given SU football t-shirts.
Sydney University would sincerely like to thank the community of Wee Waa for their support and hospitality.
The trip was extremely rewarding for many reasons and I would encourage all clubs to consider traveling to the bush as part of their pre season and help foster the game in country New South Wales.
Glenn Lockhart
| Comments (2) | Posted Thursday 2007-01-25 13:02:15 by Terry Hogan |
| Comment #1 |
An outstanding idea and well executed by the sounds of it. Great to see SUSFC involved in this sort of thing. Well done to all concerned.
| Posted Thursday 2007-01-25 13:48:47 by David Shaw |
| Comment #2 |
A great idea, super result and a booze up all in one. AJ should have played a half for both sides and may have got his hat-trick!!
| Posted Tuesday 2007-01-30 15:44:34 by Irish |
