SWAN Hill’s soccer stars will kick off their season this weekend with the men, women and a new youth team all taking to the field for their first matches of the year.
With many of the boys representing Swan Hill having aged out of the under 16s competition, an under 18 youth team has come together to play for the Swans.
They and the men’s squad will be hitting the road as both sides prepare to take on Shepparton United, with the youngsters starting their season at Shepparton’s McEwen Reserve on Sunday morning.
Swan Hill youth coach Rob Johnson said that while this season would be a step up in intensity, his side was excited and ready for the challenge.
“It’s exciting, and maybe a little bit daunting as well,” Johnson said.
“We are going somewhere we have never been before and seeing a team that we have never seen before too, in Shepparton United.
“We’ve been doing pre-season for a while now, probably six or eight weeks, just trying to work on some strategy and get to know each other as players.
“It’s looking like a bit of an eclectic mix at the moment; we’ve got a number of quite strong players stepping back into the youth squad.
“We’ve got a really interesting mix of players who played under 16s last year, players coming back to join with the youth team and a number of brand-new players.”
Johnson said members of the youth team were ready to take the step into the more serious competition.
“The boys playing at this level are very excited,” he said.
“This is quite a serious level of competition; it really does step out of that junior category into the more senior side of things.
“These players are young boys who really give their all so the games have a real intensity about them which I’m really trying to prepare our boys and myself for.
“It will be a very strong test that we will be facing this week.”
A league cup showdown against Shepparton’s first division side awaits Swan Hill’s senior men’s team, who fell just short in last year’s grand final against La Trobe University Red.
The first round of the knockout competition will take place at Epsom Huntly Reserve from 3pm this Sunday.
Men’s coach Tony Di Palma said it was the first time his side would take part in the competition that matched up both divisions.
“It’s going to be a bit of a learning experience for us this weekend but our expectations are still high,” Di Palma said.
“We’re still dealing with a few injuries – we’ll be missing about five players through injuries sustained in pre-season.
“That makes it a little bit harder but we might be able to bring a couple of youth players into the team.
“We spoke to the boys at training on Tuesday night.
“We told them to just go out there and try their hardest.
“Who knows about the result.
“We might get out there and surprise ourselves a bit.”
Di Palma said his team’s loss in last year’s grand final would help the squad strive to go one better this season.
“Our expectation for this season is to always compete at a high standard,” he said.
“The fact that close to 80 per cent of them have played together for two or three years is huge for us.
“If you try to keep that same team you can work with them that bit more and they just gel really well.
“They learn about each other as players and what they can expect from their teammates and how they can make each other better.
“That’s a huge luxury for me as a coach.”
Swan Hill’s women’s team will be the only team returning to action with a home game this weekend as they take on La Trobe University in their opening match.
They’ll be aiming to turn the tables on their opponents, who handed them two 8-0 defeats in their matches last year.
