NWS Spirit FC

Behind the scenes of Women’s First Grade with Tiana Gauci

With the rise of women’s football in Australia, the upcoming Women’s NPL season promises to bring new and exciting challenges to all the teams in the competition. With the addition of two new teams into the league, the importance of performance creates higher expectations, with this year’s competition looking to be one of the best yet. After a disappointing season last year, NWS Spirit FC’s First Grade Women’s coach, and Senior Women’s Technical Director, Tee Gauci, is hoping to continue the club’s rise.

In the off-season, Tee has been working hard to ensure that her team is ready for the challenges of the upcoming season, with herself and some of her players doing a tour of England. This wasn’t just a holiday, Tee and her girls took the opportunity to prepare for the season by working with some of the top coaches in England, as well as playing against the likes of the Manchester United, Birmingham and Manchester City women’s teams. With the intention of “moving forward with the women’s program”, Tee also spent the off-season recruiting players for her squad, with new signings Rola Badawiya, Ella Abdul Massih, and Mary Stanic-Floody being drafted into the squad. All three are currently participating in the A-League Womens season taking place, and return to Spirit for the commencement of the competition season. With the intention of “providing competition to the squad” and “energy in parts of the squad which are required,” Tee hopes that the new signings can be the spark that the team desperately needs, with each signing bringing in wealth of different experiences.

After joining Spirit in the middle of last season, Tee is confident that she can bring success to Christie Park, with this season being her first opportunity to have a full pre-season with the side. Tee believes that having such significant time on the ground at Christie Park can help instil the values and philosophies that she aims to move forward with, with Tee looking to build a project that brings in long term success. Ensuring success for this season, according to Tee, means ensuring that “Spirit’s club culture remains in the women’s program,” and creating an environment where the players enjoy their football. Tee concludes that having a strong and effective philosophy can ensure that her players work hard and maintain a good work ethic, which in-turn will bring success to our womens program.

By Renesh Krishnan
Renesh Krishnan is an aspiring football journalist at NWSF who currently studies a Bachelor of Media and Communications at Macquarie University. Playing for NWSF club, West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Lions FC, since under 5’s, Renesh and his family have been a part of the NWSF community since 2009. With a passion for creative writing, public speaking, and all things football, Renesh looks to tell the unique stories and journeys of everyone at NWSF, helping bring the community closer together.

Connect with Renesh on Instagram / Twitter / email

Spirit FC Mens First Grade launch inaugural NPL campaign

Newly promoted National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s side NWS Spirit FC will be no pushover side as the 2022 Waratah Cup Champions prepare for an exciting year ahead led by inspirational coach David Perkovic.

Perkovic has managed to retain several of his stars that did ever so well in 2022 with the likes of Chris Marques, Musashi Kokubo, Kota Odakura, Louis Bozanic, Michael Konestabo, Mitchell Davidson and Richie Darko to name a few penning new deals.

There will be eight new faces at Christie Park also known as the ‘Arctic Circle’ by some of our familiar commentating crew with former APIA Leichhardt FC players Simon Nicholas and Matthew Cahill, ex-Northern Tigers star Ollie Wiggin, former Wollongong United ace Jacob Madden, former Hakoah player Luiz Lobo, Sydney FC Academy product Frederico Gagliano, ex-Sutherland Sharks youth player George Kriezis and former Australian Youth International Jared Lum all securing deals at the club.

The team has been busily preparing for the new season and along with a handful of friendly matches, recently took out the ANDROCK Cup against Northern NSW NPL outfit Weston Bears winning 4-0.

The Mens First Grade begin their season on Saturday 4th February at Christie Park, taking on Bulls FC Academy at 5.30pm.

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Bathurst Cup success for Spirit FC

Spirit FC returned to the annual Bathurst Cup for the first time in three years, marking the resumption of a club tradition that dates back to 2015 following a COVID-enforced absence.

For the first time ever, Spirit sent its Mixed Youth League squads alongside the Association Youth League teams, making it a record 10 squads travelling to represent our local area.

Congratulations to the MYL 14s and 16s for taking out their respective age group trophies!

Well done also to MYL 13s and 18s for making the Grand Finals. Head of Football Tim Thorne commended all attending squads on their hard work and enthusiasm for the tournament.

“The Bathurst Cup is crucial for our pre-season preparations in Youth League and we thank the Bathurst Football organisers for making it such a success once again.

Thank you also to our dedicated parents who make the weekend run so smoothly.

The team building, including our U13 to U18 team dinner, helps build our strong, loyal tribes and brings the programs together ahead of their preparation for the upcoming Football NSW seasons”

Kyle Shaw returns home as part of NWSF’s pathway

The developmental pathway for young football players in Australia has been a topic that has gained a significant amount of attention in the last couple of years. With the recent success of the Socceroos at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the unique pathway that each individual player has taken in their young footballing journey has been brought to light. The highs, the lows, the injuries, the rejections, the personal setbacks; these players had been through the whole 9-yards, all of which led them to wearing the green and gold in the most prestigious sporting tournament of them all. Developmental pathways such as the NWSF pathway help players reach their full potential, while also allowing them to learn and grow, enabling them to be good footballers on the pitch, and good people off it.

Since its formation in 1952, NWSF and Spirit FC have paved the way for young footballers of all ages to develop their footballing skills, with many players going on to become successful, both in and out of Australia. The ‘NWSF Pathway’ has allowed for talented young footballers in the North-West Sydney area to rise through the ranks in their respective footballing journey’s, starting from SAP in under 9’s, all the way till the Spirit First Grade NPL team. The NWSF pathway also aims to develop players for professional A-Leagues and national team events. This is enhanced by partnerships with Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers, with players progressing from Spirit FC to these programs year in year out.

Spirit first grade defender, Kyle Shaw, is an example of a player who has progressed through the NWSF pathway. Similar to many players in the Australian system, Kyle’s football journey started at a young age playing for local clubs Holy Cross and North Ryde at a grass-roots level. Inspired by the gritty and tenacious playing style of Sergio Ramos, Kyle’s talent and flair was picked up by a scout, earning him a place at NWSF’s SAP scheme, a program which runs from under 9’s to under 12’s that provides the first step in the NWSF pathway. Offered for both boys and girls, the SAP program focuses on the development of game-related functional skills, while also engaging players to develop their technical skills in a fun, friendly and educational learning environment.

This exposure enabled Kyle to take the next step in his footballing journey, after being scouted by one of Australia’s biggest clubs, Sydney FC. A great environment that enabled Kyle to “experience the highs and lows of football,” his time at Sydney FC was one that assisted in his growth both as a football player, and as a person, with the club’s promotion of morals such as “the only way is forward,” helping Kyle to be his best self both on and off the pitch. Now older, more mature, and carrying an abundance of experience thanks to his time at Sydney FC, Kyle now finds himself back as part of Spirit’s first grade squad.

At only 18, Kyle remains ambitious about his future, with the young defender looking to make his name in Spirit’s first grade team this year, something that he has dreamed of ever since he joined the club as a young boy. To Kyle, and to most other players within the NSFW system, Spirit is not just a football club, but a family. From his early days at SAP, to his current time in the reserve grade squad, NSFW’s sense of community has been a feeling that has never withered, with it being a key factor in contributing to his return to Spirit.

While the possibilities are limitless for young players like Kyle, there is still a lot more work to be done to achieve greatness, and with Spirit’s recent promotion into NP1, these players present a bright and optimistic future for both Spirit, and Australian football as a whole.

By Renesh Krishnan
Renesh Krishnan is an aspiring football journalist at NWSF who currently studies a Bachelor of Media and Communications at Macquarie University. Playing for NWSF club, West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Lions FC, since under 5’s, Renesh and his family have been a part of the NWSF community since 2009. With a passion for creative writing, public speaking, and all things football, Renesh looks to tell the unique stories and journeys of everyone at NWSF, helping bring the community closer together.

Connect with Renesh on Instagram / Twitter / email

Learn more about the NWSF DNA

North West Sydney Football is delighted to launch its new coach education and player development resource, nwsfdna.com.

The NWSF DNA is a framework developed by the association and representative programs to achieve our vision of fostering and growing the game of football in North West Sydney.

“The framework is focused on three key pillars – the high quality people across the association, working together to provide positive environments so we can play, enjoy and develop in the game.” said Tim Palmer, Coach and Player Development Manager.

Built by Spirit FC for the NWSF clubs, nwsfdna.com provides specific resources and information to bring together our people, the environment and the game.

​ In order to support coaches in their development of holistic people/players, coaches can access:

  • session plans,
  • season programs,
  • videos and additional resources

This ranges from our youngest participants in Miniroos to those in our more senior teams, as NWSF strives to support a connected local ecosystem working together towards a common goal.

This new resource is deliberately designed as an evolving project, with new content and resources to be added in the coming months to support clubs and coaches in bringing the DNA to life.

Want to learn more? The website is also designed as a complement to our coach education offerings to provide further information and resources to our dedicated coaches across all NWSF clubs. Head there now…