Ryan Doidge believes Northern NSW Football players will use the opportunity to play in the National Youth Championships to challenge themselves and use it as a pivotal step in their development.
Players from across Australia are preparing to travel to Melbourne where the 2024 National Youth Championships for Girls will kick off on Wednesday.
Doidge, NNSWF's Technical Director, will be at the girls tournament, watching over some of the region's most talented players. His role will also include supporting NNSWF coaches and providing professional development opportunities for players and coaches.
"Nationals provides players with an excellent opportunity to showcase their talents among other identified players," Doidge said.
"Our talent identification process has increased over the last 12 months and we have confidence that we have given as many players as possible a chance to showcase themselves to be selected.
"Brett Angell joining our team as the Talent Development Officer has strengthened our relationship with the member zones in our footprint and he has been working hard with zone technical leads. Brett has helped us increase our identification efforts and has continued to strengthen our relationship with the Newcastle Jets and premier clubs’ technical directors.
"Our developed talent identification process has allowed us to have two strong teams that will represent not only themselves and northern NSW but also showcase the region's talent. For the second year in a row, NNSWF has players from six of our member zones from North Coast Football right down to the Hunter."
The Football Australia National Youth Championships for Girls will be played at the Home of the Matildas, Bundoora, from Wednesday 3 July to Monday 8 July.
All member federations will be represented at the tournament, with NNSWF entering under-15s and 16s girls teams.
"It's a really good opportunity to play in an environment against some of the nation's best players," Doidge said.
"I hope our players feel proud to represent their area and it's a great opportunity to showcase our talent in this area.
"The National Youth Championships are the pinnacle of our Talented Player Pathway. I look forward to our players bringing their development to life and playing with passion in a high-intensity environment, coming back having given everything they can give.
"This tournament will serve as a national identification tool for our national team set up and we hope we can support our players’ aspirations of representing Australia.
"I wish the very best of luck to all players and coaches for the upcoming championships. I look forward to seeing them showcase the incredible talent from across the northern NSW footprint."
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