Football Australian National Championships
Ash in Year 9 is footy mad! A student at The Ridgeway Campus, Ash is currently playing Football at West Preston in the Northern Football League U16 Girls’ team and was included in the Northern Knights Development Squad at the start of the year. She is also the Vice Captain of the NFL representative side, which recently won the Interleague Championship, with Ash being judged Best on Ground in the Grand Final. Most recently, Ash was selected to represent Victoria in Girls’ U15s AFL team at the School Sports Australia National Championship in Perth in late July. She made the squad of 25 from approximately 130 who attended the tryouts. They played five matches in seven days, with Ash playing all games and making a significant contribution to the team.
Ash reflected on the time away:
“The trip to Perth for the national football championship was the most amazing experience. It was the best outcome, with both the girls and boys Victorian teams bringing home gold. I stayed in team accommodation at a holiday park in cabins, there were three girls per cabin and while staying together we had many responsibilities. We cooked ourselves dinner most of the nights and had to do our own washing and cleaning. One of the nights, all the cabins took place in a Masterchef challenge where the coaches judged. It was very funny and my group won. We played 5 games of football in the 7 days. Each game was a learning opportunity and a lot of fun and each game we met new friends from other states and territories. The team played really well and we won every game, with SA the only team to score a goal against us. The grand final came and we all knew it was the last game. On the day everyone was emotional, nervous and very tired from the week of footy but once we were on the field everyone played their heart out and we won! Many wonderful memories and friendships were made and I will never forget the whole experience.”
Well done Ash! Keep reaching high, doing what you love.
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