By Tate Papworth
Keilor Downs College’s soccer school program is like no other and it’s starting to show.
The school is currently celebrating a double achievement after two girls joined the School Sports Victoria state squad to compete at the recent national titles and 14 boys were selected to represent the school at an international tournament against the likes of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona next year.
Keilor Downs College Soccer School coordinator Josip Loncaric said both achievements were a real feather in the school’s cap.
“This program is all about giving kids a chance to train in positive learning environment with qualified coaches and teachers.
“It’s a six-year, long-term development journey where they learn about the game.
“We film training sessions, use drones, go pros and the kids can watch their performance … then we give the kids feedback on their game.“
He said the two year 10 girls, Amel Fehmi and Aliah Sejovia, who went to the School Sports Victoria national titles were the embodiment of what the program was all about.
“They’re two really good girls. They’ve been there since the start of program and really bought into culture.
“Both got a fair bit of game time … I think they thought being younger girls that they were making up numbers, but they got a heap of game time so the coach saw something in them“.
Now it’s over to the boys to showcase what they have against the best in the world.
“We’re taking part in the Elite Football tournament 2020.
“We’ll get to test ourselves against the likes of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, as well as A League academy sides Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United.
“Hopefully after the boys can come back and push the program forward and pass on their information to the next generation.“
