By JARROD POTTER
SOUTH-EAST region Youth Girls footballers can now follow their elite academy passions locally as Dandenong Stingrays.
The inaugural Dandenong Stingrays’ Youth Girls Academy list was announced late last month, with 46 Youth Girls footballers set to be put through their paces by academy head coach Scott Gowans.
Formerly any players from the south-east suburbs and Gippsland had to attend the Sandringham Dragons YGA, but will now experience the best of local facilities as they’re now based out of the newly renovated Shepley Oval alongside the current TAC Cup team.The Stingrays’ first intake includes players from South-East Juniors, Gippsland Youth Girls, Yarra Juniors, Mornington Peninsula, Eastern, Frankston District and South Metro leagues.
Spanning one of the largest geographic areas out of the Youth Girls Academies, Gowans said it wasn’t Dandenong’s intent to select from all parts of the region.
“It wasn’t a conscious effort to pick a few from South East and a few from Gippsland, it just panned out that way,” Gowans said.
“It goes to show with the whole south-east region its talent base is amazing.
“We could have picked another 20-30 girls on top of that and you wouldn’t be dropping anything as far as talent goes.”
“110 tried out… originally the squad was going to be 35, but with the talent that was there we tried to squeeze as much as we could and Chyloe (Kurdas) has managed to pull some money from somewhere to fund the whole thing.”
Desire to learn is the biggest thing Gowans has found with his squad so far and thinks that will put the Stingrays YGA in good stead for the upcoming season.
“The difference I find between the girls and the boys is that the girls just want the knowledge,” Gowans said.
“They just listen and if you send out a survey or a training program, you know it’s going to get done while the boys tend to think they already know all that.
“The girls’ thirst to learn is unbelievable and that’s why I’ve enjoyed being part of the girls’ program… they’re very coachable.”
Gowans is focused on develop the playing and coaching staffs and hopes to get a few new faces into the Vic Metro and Vic Country sides ahead of the national championships.
The academy training all leads up to a round-robin tournament in February which also stands as selection trials for Vic Country and Vic Metro for the 2015 AFL Youth Girls National Football Championships.
The Stingrays are joined by new programs at Murray/Bendigo and a combined academy of Geelong/Western/Werribee/Williamstown, which add to existing academies at the Calder Cannons, Sandringham Dragons and North Ballarat Rebels.
They had their first training session Wednesday alongside the TAC Cup Stingrays before the Youth Girls Academy intra-club match at Longwarry Football Reserve on Sunday 21 December, from 10am.
DANDENONG STINGRAYS YOUTH GIRLS ACADEMY
Player Club: Brodi Pedretti (Bairnsdale), Amy Barnes (Beaconsfield), Georgia Anderson (Beaconsfield), Georgia Fisher (Beaconsfield), Georgia Gee (Beaconsfield), Katie Angelis (Beaconsfield), Lauren Hojnacki (Beaconsfield), Brittany Partington (Cranbourne), Courtney Jones (Cranbourne), Georgia Gourlay (Cranbourne), Katelyn Cox (Cranbourne), Kayla Ripari (Cranbourne), Sophie Phillips (Cranbourne), Logan O’Connell-Webb (Endeavour Hills), Dayna Smith (Frankston), Laura Beattie (Frankston), Darcy Guttridge (Gippsland Power), Shayla Marsh (Gippsland Power), Carleen Ryan (Hampton Park), Emily Rose Browning (Hampton Park), Samara Hazelden (Hampton Park), Taylor Jacobs (Hampton Park), Ashley Jans (Maffra), Hannah Lewis (Mornington), Parris Stahl (Mornington), Zoe Mitchell (Mornington), Demi Plunkett (Morwell), Kimberley Graham (Mowell), Amy Marshall (Mt Eliza), Bonnie Mahoney (Officer), Taylah O’Hagan (Officer), Karina Diaz (Parkmore), Georgia Walker (Rye), Jordyn Allen (Rye), Teagan Sheldon (Scoresby), Beth Cruickshank (Seville Ranges), Brooke Clare (Seville Ranges), Jess Provan (Seville Ranges), Jessica Smith (Seville Ranges), Shani Dixon (Stratford), Sarah Kelly (Tooradin), Stacey Conway (Tooradin), Isabel Marsh (Warragul), Emily Harley (Waverley Blues), Gemma Lagioia (Waverley Blues) and Abbey Goullet (Waverley Park).
