North Turramurra FC are Sydney FC’s Local Club of the Week and have won a $500 grant from St. George Bank after being entered into the competition by club President Tom Ryan who highlighted the club’s youth development programs as a turning point in the club’s history.
North Turramurra FC are Sydney FC-s Local Club of the Week and have won a $500 grant from St. George Bank after being entered into the competition by club President Tom Ryan who highlighted the club-s youth development programs as a turning point in the club-s history.
Playing in the Northern Suburbs Football Association, North Turramurra FC are a club who have put children first as they strive to field a team in each age group after implementing a structured program focussing on the development of junior players.
“In 2013 having not fielded a junior team in nearly 20 years, the club introduced a youth development program,” said Ryan.
“Since then it has grown from one senior squad of 30 players to eight teams and over 100 registered players and we plan to continue expanding so that we can field at least one team at each age group within 5 years.
“This is the best way to guarantee the future of our club and ensure that youngsters in North Turramurra have an opportunity to play football with their local club.”
Displaying the success of this program North Turramurra FC-s junior teams have tripled in size, going from no registered juniors in 2012 to having 47 juniors registered in 2014 comprising four teams and Ryan said this had brought a new found togetherness to the club and throughout the community.
“Not many clubs can boast that they have trebled their membership in just two years,” Ryan said.
“Our under 6 team played throughout the year last year, training for the summer competition on an overgrown tennis court kindly donated by an elderly resident as the local field was being used for cricket.
“Numerous parents from the under 6 and under 7 age groups have signed up as volunteers and amateur coaches and always turn out in great numbers for Club fundraising events.
“Many of these parents have even started to socialise outside of the football.”
Ryan was grateful to Sydney FC and St. George Bank for the grant and said it would be put towards the continued growth of youth football for North Turramurra FC.
“This is fantastic news for our little club,” Ryan said.
“We have just begun our youth development program and are expanding rapidly. North Turramurra FC may be one of the smaller clubs in the Northern Suburbs Football Association but we have a strong heritage and we were one of the 6 foundation teams of the association.
“The grant will be used towards improving the training equipment of our under-age teams,” he continued.
“We are very grateful to St George Bank and are looking forward to the training session with the Sydney FC players and I’d like to say thanks to both St George Bank and Sydney FC.”
4 WEEKS TO GO! – There’s still plenty of time to be Sydney FC’s Local Club of the Week. Click here to find out more and enter for your chance to win a $500 grant from St. George Bank.
