Hailing from Sydney’s North Shore, Lindfield FC enter the Kanga Cup with an excellent reputation for female football development and will look to make their mark in another trip to the capital.
The club compete in the Northern Suburbs Football Association [NSFA] and have programs for women and girls at such a high standard, that Lindfield also make up one of nine eligible for the Diamond League, created for outfits that meet a quality benchmark.
Overall, it’s an area where Lindfield’s Under-14 Plate team coach Olivia Meagher says has a big interest in football.
“It’s massive, so we play for NSFA, the football federation, there’s a lot of competition, Lindfield, Northbridge, Hornsby, we have a bit of a rivalry,” she said. “There’s so many supporters, everyone comes down to watch, lots of facilities, I love it.”
It’s in the female football department that the club particularly thrives, boasting high numbers of registered women and girls’ players in comparison to other sides statewide, and alongside this focus, Lindfield desires a positive club culture as a priority.
“We have our technical focuses, but it’s based quite purely on culture,” Meagher said. “Female football is massive with our club, we put in a lot of effort, it’s rising with the Matildas, there’s a huge influx of girls playing, but yeah culture and fun, the games got to be fun.
“We want to [retain] players, we want to keep them, and doing that, we want to build players’ love for the game, so that’s what we focus on here.”
For Lindfield, participation in the Kanga Cup represents some of the biggest matches of the season for their players, making it an opportunity not to be missed, particularly for Meagher’s Under-14s.
“It’s pretty massive, this, State Cup and Champion of Champions are our things to look forward to every year,” she said. “This is my team’s second year, they played nine-a-side last year, so this is their first year playing 11-a-side, and they’re playing up an age group, we’ve had one day and the results haven’t been what we’ve wanted but they come back anyway, and they’re happy to be here.
“Again, it’s all about the love for the game and the club culture we have, we make it fun for them, through coaching specifically, they were very excited, I asked them a lot of times, they were pumped to be here.”
“I love it so much, obviously I’ve coached them since I was their age so I kind of grew up alongside them it’s a bit surreal, but these girls are amazing, obviously I’m not a parent and I don’t take on that role, but it feels a little bit like that, I just love being here and I love coaching them.”
Words: Sam Watson
