Spirit FC continued the annual tradition of travelling to Proctor Park in Bathurst for tournaments featuring our Mixed Youth League, Association Youth League and Womens Youth League squads.
Our Mixed and Association squads were first to travel, competing in the Bathurst Cup on the first weekend of February. With ten squads making up the contingent, it was a busy weekend of football action, kicking off at 6.50am on the Saturday. Our Association Youth League teams were particularly prominent on this first day, with many competing well in matches against NPL opposition, demonstrating the strength of our development program.
Our MYL 14s through to 18s were all successful in progressing to the semi-finals of their respective age groups. Our 14s and 18s bowed out on penalties, but it was a successful tournament for the MYL 15s and 16s, who emerged as Bathurst Cup champions! This also marked back to back success for our 15s age group – congratulations to coaches Jack Urgun, Charlie Thorne, Kyle Devine and Nejat Haydar.
The following weekend featured our WYL 14s to 18s enjoying the sun at the Proctor Park Challenge. An enjoyable Day One saw all our teams secure a pathway through the group stages. On the Sunday, our WYL 15s and 16s navigated quarter finals successfully, but fell short in the semi-finals. The WYL 14s and 18s made it through to their Grand Finals, and both emerged victorious to ensure dual Cup success. Well done to coaches Ryan Fletcher, Zac Cerreto, Travis Cooper and Ash Isaac!
Two spectaular weekends of football are also acknowledged as crucial moments in developing our tribal DNA. One of the five key words we aim to develop in our people and players, tribal is defined as “people who are committed to their environments and the people within them”. Bathurst provides the unique opportunity for our squads and coaches to spend time together, getting to know each other and making memories that form the foundation of our club culture, but also, lasting friendships.
Technical Director Tim Palmer commended all the teams on their fantastic efforts over each weekend, acknowledging the crucial contribution of our managers and volunteers in supporting the logistics and camaraderie of the trips away. A particular thank you is noted to Gordon Hessell, Head of Athletic DNA, who travelled both weekends to provide high performance and sports trainer support to all our Youth League squads.
