A proud community focused football club hailing from Sydney’s Lower North Shore, Lane Cove FC have sent their U11 Falcons side to make their Kanga Cup debut. This is the first time any Lane Cove FC team has travelled to compete in Canberra, and they are thoroughly excited to finally be in the nation’s Capital.
“We were booked in one of the COVID years, but we never made it down,” said Tony Callaghan, coach of the Falcons team playing in the tournament. “It feels great to be here, wonderful facilities and hosts and now we’re excited, about half of us made it down for the opening ceremony and the kids loved that.”
The Sydney based outfit have 75 years’ worth of history and usually play their home games just 6km from the city’s CBD at Pottery Green and Blackman Park. Lane Cove pride themselves on their focus towards community and involvement with sides ranging from under 6’s to over 45’s in both Men’s and Women’s competitions hosting players with differing abilities.
“In terms of community involvement, we do a lot, there’s a barbecue every weekend which is supported by all the different teams so it’s a real community run club,” explained Callaghan.
Going into this year’s Kanga Cup a key focus is mixing a competitive mindset with a keen desire to also build a strong and cheerful bond as a team.
“I just want them to have a great time and get to experience the joys of tournament football, to be honest we’re a small little community club, so our goal is to be competitive, and it is going to be difficult but we’re off to a good start,” commented Callaghan. “We didn’t really have a goal to win the competition but if we can get into the top two that would be fantastic.”
Callaghan’s team triumphed in their first game against Belnorth FC dragons winning 2-0 and getting off to a stellar beginning in their Pool A journey of the U11 Female Plate. The Falcons coach has almost 10 years of experience under his belt and is confident that participating in competitions such as the Kanga Cup will be highly beneficial in elevating his player’s footballing skills and knowledge.
“I’ve coached a little bit in my time, and I’ve always said tournament football is the best way for kids to improve quickly because they get to play game after game, day after day, and they get that immediate feedback so they can really develop their skills and I think it’s a wonderful opportunity.”
Callaghan is hoping that the amazing experience his side is having so far will attract Lane Cove to bring more teams on the journey down south.
“We’re trailblazers I think because we’re the only Lane Cove representation down here so I’m going to report back how great it is and hopefully get a few more club teams in future Kanga Cups,” Callaghan added.
Words: William Rumgay
