SWQ Highlanders raring to go ahead of national club futsal titles

With the National Club Futsal Championships kicking off this weekend, the South West Queensland Highlanders are ready to make their mark against some of the best futsal sides in the country.

The under-12 South West Queensland boys team set to compete in the upcoming National Club Futsal Championships.

Three South West Queensland futsal sides are ready to rock the country when they compete in the National Club Futsal Championships starting this weekend.

The Highlanders are sending their under-16 girls, U12 boys and U8 boys to Sydney with hopes of making a statement to the rest of the nation.

Chris McLeod, who will coach the U12 boys, said the club is determined to replicate the success it has enjoyed in recent years.

“These kids have been to three state or national semi-final stages and they are really keen to stay together and have a crack at the championships,” he said.

“Our boys and girls last year, we sent four teams down and got four teams into a semi which was a tremendous achievement.”

The club has had the mindset of producing champion teams rather than a team of champions, with a focus on players working together as a whole to achieve success rather than relying on individual talent.

“I am the coach of the 12s and for me the team is only as strong as the weakest link and we don’t have any weak links,” McLeod said.

“We have nine really good boys that will each have a role to do.

“The under-8 boys are the same, they are a collection of really young kids that we just want to go away and enjoy it and love it, but they are already training above and beyond.

“Most of them now have been picked up by the Thunder academy sides as well and in the futsal world, there is a little bloke who travels all the way from Stanthorpe such is his love of the game and commitment.”

McLeod is also excited to see how the U16 girls perform, who have a quality coach in the wings.

“The coach is Sarah Bradbury and she is a young girl who used to play futsal herself but she is a great vibe for working with kids,” he said.

“She is actually studying to be a teacher and is working up at Fairholme in the futsal world there but she is very knowledgeable, has a great persona with the kids and her communication skills are excellent.

“So I won’t earmark any of the girls individually because I think they are a diamond crew of girls there that will work together really well.”

The competition has often given the Highlanders the opportunity to develop and learn from some of the best futsal and football clubs in Australia.

“The beauty of this one is you don’t just have the school teams, but you have the academies as well who train three or four days a week,” McLeod said.

“There are really good football clubs that actually put teams into this as a lead up to their outdoor season so the talent base is incredible.

“I had the opportunity last year to referee from under-8s to under-13s and to watch the skillsets on these eight, nine and 10-year-old kids was amazing.

“I think you get a really good gauge on being at those events, where we are at a level of production and what we have to do and we have established an academy at South West at UniSQ in the last two years.

“The first year we had 100 children, then last year we had 175 that were coming along just to do futsal as an academy product.”