JSS nominees The Ponds High aim high in Wanderers School Cup

THE Ponds High School are looking forward to making it all the way in the Wanderers School Cup football tournament after qualifying for the finals.

The Ponds High School football team. Picture: David Swift

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THE Ponds High School are looking forward to making it all the way in the Wanderers School Cup football tournament after qualifying for the finals.

Winning the qualifying pool from Blacktown competition is all the more remarkable as this was the first time the new school had entered the tournament and didn’t have much time to train together before their games.

For their achievements, they are this week’s nominees for the Junior Sports Star Team Spirit Awards, sponsored by SportsTG.

The Ponds Highs School did not concede a goal in the qualifying tournament.

Proud coach Morgan Williams said the team is made of Year 7 and 8 students who initially had two training sessions together to work out their strengths and weaknesses.

“The Ponds High School is a relatively new school and we are fortunate that there are a lot of local football teams in the area that our students belong to and play for on the weekends,” Williams said.

”The boy’s managed to have two training sessions to build up familiarity with their team mates, and work on their touch, passing, communication and decision making skills as many haven’t played football with each other outside of their PDHPE lessons.”

Williams praised the efforts of goalkeeper Reece Davila who kept a blank sheet during the tournament.

The Ponds High School defeated Plumpton High School 3-0, Australian Islamic College 2-0,

St Columba’s High School 7-0 and Rooty Hill High School 3-0.

“Our team was determined and played well,” skipper Noah Shin said. “But we need to be consistent to win at the next stage.”

“Besides winning, the most important thing we gained was greater sense of belonging (with) in our team,” said Wilson Ihemeje.

Mahdi Kalantari, who hopes to be ready for next month’s finals after an ankle injury, added: “We played as a team, it wasn’t about individual performances, we just wanted to win and get some good results behind us.”

The team: Reece Davila, Daniel Du Preez, Tai Win, Cio Win, Gianni Grasso, Toby Laus, Clayton Taylor, Wilson Ihemeje, Alex Xavier, Noah Shin, Joshua McGinley, Mahdi Kalantari,

Joshua Mifsud, Vlad Matskevich, Sonal Kongalage and Yashdeep Thind. Coach: Morgan Williams

■ The Junior Sports Star awards are sponsored by Rebel. To nominate a promising junior, team or dedicated club volunteer, visit juniorsportsstar.com.au.