Austral Soccer Club has returned to Canberra in 2023. They may be small in numbers but their club and coach, Santo Grasso, embody everything the KEEPUP Kanga Cup is about.
Only one team has come down to represent the club from the suburb in Liverpool, Sydney but they are certainly making a name for themselves. The Austral boys have now won three of their first four games and look like possible favourites for this year’s U15 Mixed Plate.
They’re impressing further than just their skills with the ball. A tight-knit group of boys, which belies their age, the U15s have demonstrated brilliant sportsmanship on and off the field. From being loyal to their favourite restaurant in Canberra, to immediately apologising for a bad tackle, this group of boys would impress anyone.
Coach Grasso is a clear indicator of how these boys became the mature outfit they are, complimenting many aspects of the Kanga Cup, only wishing it was bigger!
Grasso says last year the boys were a little sceptical but that thought has since gone out the window.
“We love it. We’ve been living for this. This is the second year with this group of boys,” Grasso commented. “After last year they said we’ve got to do this every year. It’s an amazing experience and the kids build great memories.”
Memories are shared on and off the pitch, including at the Ainslie Football Club where it seems half the club has been sharing dinners.
“The team bonding is phenomenal. I’ve booked Ainslie Football club for the last seven tournaments, and we book for 60 people including families,” Grasso revealed.
Another aspect of the Kanga Cup that the team from Austral appreciate is the memories shared with other teams.
“Everywhere you go people talk football. They all say how’d you go today, where are you coming from and we love it,” Grasso said.
“Hopefully we can learn from playing from a lot of teams that aren’t in our district. We find a lot of teams play the one style of football where we come from. The great thing about (The Kanga Cup) is we get to play against a lot of different styles of football. That’s why we find it so beneficial.”
As the biggest youth tournament in the Southern Hemisphere, the Kanga Cup attracts a lot of great clubs, but Grasso insists that Austral SC are unique in their togetherness.
“We are massive on keeping a tight-knit group to make sure we’re there for each other. The seniors are the same. They spend as much time together as possible,” Grasso praised.
“We give a lot of respect (to the team) and have a lot of belief in them. And the boys just bounce that back, giving back the same thing.”
This belief may be behind Patrick Yazbek who, after developing with Austral SC, has gone onto star for Sydney FC and now Viking FK, of Norway.
Words: Henry Ricketts
