IT may be in its infancy, but Sporting Whittlesea FC is making its mark on the district soccer scene. Founded in 2010 after merging with nearby Lalor FC, the club started in the Provisional League and quickly made a name for itself.
It was promoted to the Men’s State League, where it now competes in the north-west third division.
Senior coach Sam Papadopoulos says Sporting Whittlesea FC is building a strong community profile.
The club recently received a $2000 development grant from the Goals for Grassroots program, which supports clubs around the country.
The club also received $1000 from Hyundai and a further $1000 for the goal the A-League club Melbourne Victory scored in its 3-1 loss to Newcastle Jets.
Victory players are often on hand to take the club’s juniors through training drills.
“When the Victory players come down all the kids love it,” Papadopoulos says. “It gets them to learn more skills and it helps put the club’s name on the map.
“Years ago this never used to happen. You were paid to go play and then go home, so it’s good to see senior players getting involved with junior programs.
“The game has exploded since the World Cup in 2006. We’re only a little local club, but we’re a ‘big’ little local club, if you get what I mean.”
Papadopoulos, 40, says the club has managed to integrate male and female players, from under 9s to seniors, in an area where competition is fierce.
“Years ago in local soccer everybody thought they were a coach and it was taking a lot of people in the wrong direction. Now we’ve got accredited coaches who are able to give more to kids.
“It has worked out well. Every parent thinks their kid is the next David Beckham but some kids need more coaching than others and this gives everyone an opportunity.”
Papadopoulos, who has played with clubs including Port Melbourne and Sunshine George Cross, still plays but says he is enjoying putting more into coaching.
“I really wanted to expand the game and the club,” he says. “And with the juniors, that’s important because you don’t want to be spending all your resources only to have them move on to other clubs.”
He is excited about the season ahead. The club’s senior team has performed well in practice matches before the season kicks off on March 31, beating both division 1 and division 2 clubs. But he says they aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves.
“I was happy with the way we presented,” he said. “It was more about how we set ourselves up and responded and it all seems to be working well at the moment.
“The wins build confidence for the season ahead and prepare us for what this league is about. It’s very competitive so we need to be on game, week in, week out.”
