Three budding Ballarat soccer players will represent Victoria in the Football Federation Australia National Youth Championships.
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Ballarat Devils Lachlan Bardsley and Jack Livingston were named in the under-13 and under-14 teams respectively.
While Mark Ritchie, a former Ballarat Red Devils junior academy player, will captain the under-14 side.
The 16-man squad will fly out on Sunday to Coffs Harbour where it will take on fellow states in the tournament that spans from October 3 to 7.
Ballarat Red Devils technical director Michael Busija said the boys’ selection was a just reward for their hard work and effort over the past few years.
“As a club we are always proud when our players get recognized and selected in representative sides,” Busija said.
“One of our club’s aims is to provide a genuine pathway for our young footballers. We strive to help our footballers reach their full potential and we are rapt that Lachlan and Jack are taking the next step on this exciting journey.”
Busija encouraged all junior soccer players throughout western Victoria who were wanting to take their football to the next level and play in the state’s highest competition to apply for the upcoming season 2017 trials beginning late October.
“With the recent success of players graduating from our pathway into A-League clubs such as Brandon Lauton and Stefan Nigro, we have a proven ability to provide further opportunities and encourage all players to take up the chance to join our squads.”
While Ritchie no longer plays for the Devils he goes to school at St Patrick’s College and was honoured to be named captain of the side – the second year in a row he has done so.
The boys played their way through a lengthy process to make the state-level side.
In February the group attended individual trials over a six-week period at the Darebin International Sports Centre, the home of Football Federation Victoria, where a squad of 26 players from Victoria were selected.
The 26 hopefuls then attended further training sessions every three weeks for 10 weeks to allow the selectors to reduce the group and pick a final squad of 16.
The final 16 have been put through a rigorous eight-week training program along with some practice matches to be primed for a strong showing next week.