Club kick for girls’ soccer comp

WITH young female soccer players set to test their skills in the second annual Western United Cup, members of the Buninyong Soccer Club are looking to field a team into the competition.

This year’s event is set to run at Morshead Park from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 September and the Redbacks’ mixed under 13s coach Katherine Preston said they’re looking for more players to take part.

“We’ve got three girls and we need 11,” she said. “We’re all mixed at the moment so we’re really pushing for a girls’ team of our own. Last season we had about seven girls.

“My daughter was involved with the competition last season and that only came together at the end so we’re hoping we can pull this off.”

The Redbacks’ girls took place in the competition’s first iteration last year after merging a team together with members of the Surf Coast Football Club.

Ms Preston said returning to the Western United Cup competition will be a great experience for young female players.

“Last year, it was a good showcase for the girls to showcase their skills, and they got to meet some of the Western United players as well,” she said.

“I think we came fourth that time. It’s a whole weekend of soccer. The whole experience is a nice opportunity for them.”

With two come and try sessions held in the past two weeks for the competition, the club currently has 13 under 13s players as well as two under 11s boys teams featuring a single female player.

Having joined the Redbacks about two years ago after moving from Lara United, Preston said filling female soccer teams isn’t an uncommon problem for Ballarat clubs.

“It’s very different from Geelong,” she said. “The intake of girls over here compared to there is a big divide. At Lara, it was probably 60 per cent boys, 40 per cent girls.

“Ballarat soccer for girls, I feel, has gone backwards a bit in recent years. I think that’s the idea of the Cup. If we keep chipping away it though, we might get there with a team.”