The 34 players from the inaugural Future Wander Women program have officially graduated.
The class of 2021 were supposed to have their graduation ceremony at the double-header between the Wanderers and Wellington Phoenix at CommBank Stadium a fortnight ago, however, the bad weather resulted in the A-League matches and also the ceremony being postponed.
Despite this, neither the bad weather, or COVID, has done anything to dampen the excitement these girls have for their future in football and the Wanderers.
Blacktown Spartans’ junior Chelsea Barton took part in the 2021 program and admits it has motivated her even more to pursue her footballing dreams.
“I loved using the great facilities, with good coaches and the potential opportunities that can hopefully come from this,” said the 16-year-old. “Seeing women’s football give opportunities to local young girls to develop is inspiring to me.
“Hopefully I can give back in the future to this program.”
The intensive program develops skills as well as tactical nouse, all within a professional environment. There were initially 188 girls who trialled, with 34 girls aged 14-17 making the final cut.
The coach was former W-League star Linda Khamis, who worked with Wanderers technical director Ian Crook to develop the program. Current Wander Women Bryleeh Henry and Libby Copus-Brown assisted Khamis.
In what is fantastic news for girls in western Sydney, the 2022 program has been expanded with girls aged 10-16 now able to take part. The number of spots available has grown to 60, with 30 places for girls aged 10-12 and 30 for those aged 13-16.
The 2022 program will also go for 20 weeks, with training taking place each Wednesday night during terms 2 and 3.
Madi Gabila, who is 11 years old and a Wanderers fan, admits she is excited about the program expanding to include her age group.
“Exciting news about being able to trial for the Wanderers, to test myself against the best girls in Sydney,” she said. “For me this is another step into making my dream of playing for the Wanderers come true.”
Word has it that Madi was so excited when her mother signed her up for the trials today, that she went out and trained in the rain for nearly an hour just to get herself ready for the trials in April.
The program is funded by the Wanderers Foundation and its generous donors. It is free for the girls that trial and who get a spot in the program.
Outgoing Wanderers CEO John Tsatsimas, a long-time advocate for giving local talent a chance to be Wander Women, says he is delighted the successful program was running for a second year in a row.
“Following the success of the Future Wander Women Program last year, we are proud that the Wanderers Foundation and our generous donors have come together again to not only continue the program, but also expand the number of participants,” he said.
“It is very important for us to give an opportunity to young female athletes in Western Sydney to continue their development and growth, and we hope that the Future Wander Women Program can continue for years to come.”
Isabelle Antoniou
Janaya Baroudi
Chelsea Barton
Ariane Brown
Neve Burns
Deana Caronna
Ciara Casamento
Abbey-Rose Cryer
Olivia D’Alessandro
Samantha Edwards
Layla Etherington
Isla Giron
Aimee Hall
Helena Halios-Lewis
Elissa Hariri
Sharina Harris
Isabelle Harris
Sienna Havill
Denise Justice
Matilda McParland
Kitwarla Mkali
Layla Mouawad
Ava Parry
Ava Piazza
Rojin Polat
Isabella Raad
Maria Roumeliotis
Jessica Saliba
Kaylie Shannon
Tahlia Sharrock
Ella Sievwright
Caley Tallon-Henniker
Emilija Vidakovic
Alice Webster
Kate Woosnam
Janakan Seemampillai
Roar Guru
Yep we know the club has to invest more. All fans have said it. With a new CEO we can hopefully accomplish this
josh
Guest
Great so what's happening between now and then, another 5-10 seasons of missing finals? It's embarrassing that the team with the best facilities is coming last in the club championship. Only saving grace is not every club is eligible to be on the list.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Josh, I was always under the impression at WSW in relation to women and juniors, it was never about “the now”. I’m not suggesting that they have got things right at all, just that particularly in youth development they were playing players up in age groups and focussing on development rather than trophies - that appeared to be the philosophy when TP was there, not sure what happened beyond his reign. However, I’d love to see a batch of players come through the youth team and make senior debuts and be strong competitive players that cut it in the A League men and women……..a WSW repeating the class of 92 - wouldn’t that be something!
josh
Guest
What long term goasl? The team has been terrible for a decade, is this a 50 year plan to make finals?
Janakan Seemampillai
Roar Guru
This is a long term thing. It’s not on 16 year olds to make teams successful. The fruits of this will be seen in 5-10 years .
Objective
Guest
Geez comments like this make my blood boil. These kids are the beneficiaries of programs set up with long term goals in mind. If they didn't exist, brave keyboard warriors like you would be getting your knickers in a twist about that too.
josh
Guest
Or the club could just go and sign players who know how to win. The current state of the WSW Liberty A League side has avoided scrutiny for far too long, it's about time that changed.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Josh - it is a junior program so under 16 I thought was the oldest players. Surely it will take a few years more development before anyone is first grade material. Development has to be a medium to long term plan with no panacea for current frailties in either team.
josh
Guest
Great, can't wait to see them make it to the WSW side where they come last again and lose by 5 goals to a Canberra side that hadn't won a match all season.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
It’s great to see programs like this especially as they are fully funded rather than what we have traditionally seen in NSW where clubs charge a fortune for junior development which can often preclude genuine talent if parents can’t afford it. Ultimately the proof will be whether the club’s stocks improve and the quality of the team rises and of course the number of first grade players that come from the program in years to come.