Finishing a lowly third from bottom in the NPLV1 last season has only galvanised Sunshine George Cross soccer club to stay the course with its youth policy.
The Georgies are not in the search for instant gratification and will continue to reward home-grown youngsters with senior spots, for the betterment of both the club and the sport.
“Our plan at George Cross is to give the young kids senior experience,” Georgies president Jamie Chetcuti told
Star Weekly.
“Three of our under-20s got senior contracts this year and there are a lot more kids to come through. Once they become really senior players, we’ll have a big future.”
The Georgies can see the bigger picture and want to play their part in growing soccer in Australia. They’ve already done their bit in recent times, with a number of their young players moving on to A-League youth teams.
“For soccer to go forward in Australia, we have to work closely with the A-League clubs and prepare players for them and be proud if they come and get our kids,” Chetcuti said.
“We’ve lost nine players over two years to Victory and City youth teams.”
A key component to the execution of Sunshine’s youth strategy is new technical director Sean Gale.
Gale joins the club from South Melbourne to replace Vaughan Coveny, who vacated the post to take up a full-time position at Melbourne Victory.
Coveny will remain involved with the Georgies as a junior team coach, but has passed on all other duties to Gale.
“Sean is a professional at what he does,” Chetcuti said.
“We know where we want the club to be, what we want to be doing, how we want to produce the kids, preparing them for the A-League, and he supports it 100 per cent.”
Sunshine has recently sparked up a sister relationship with English League 1 club Swindon Town, the former home of Socceroo Massimo Luongo.
The Georgies were approached to strike up a partnership and jumped at the opportunity.
“It’s a friendly relationship with an overseas club where we can learn a bit off them,” Chetcuti said.
“They have a youth development system which is similar to what we follow in Victoria.”
But don’t expect to see Swindon poaching young Georgies players any time soon … the Georgies’ aim is to push its young players into the A-League.
“Our priority is Australian football,” Chetcuti said.
“It’s a relationship where the kids can go [to Swindon] and experience overseas football then come back with that experience and take it onto the field here.”
Meanwhile, the club and the wider football community is mourning the passing of Darren Frain, a favourite son at George Cross.
