By David Nagel
Over the Christmas period, the Sta News’ sports team will be re-sharing some of the most popular stories from over the course of 2023.
Thank you for supporting our newspapers over the course of the year. We hope you enjoy the selection and have a wonderful holiday period, however you choose to celebrate.
Look out Sam Kerr…the girls from Harkaway Hills College are scoring goals at a rapid rate – both on and off the pitch – in their first season in the Victorian Churches Football Association (VCFA).
Falcons FC, as they are known, have scored 79 goals in just 14 matches and sit proudly on top of the VCFA Under-14 Girls competition with just four rounds remaining in the season.
That’s a remarkable set of numbers by anyone’s standards, but when you consider these girls had never played soccer before until last year – then a championship win would be even more remarkable.
The story began when the developing school from Narre Warren North decided to enter a team in interschool sports last year.
Fuelled by the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup, the girls aged between nine and 13 were being taught by a teacher, who fell sick…so reinforcements were called in.
Jaime Castro, a former professional player in El Salvador, whose daughter Sabrina plays in the team, was called into action.
“The girls had never played soccer or team sports, and there are not many girls at the school to start with, but you could see they were all eager and wanted to have a go,” Castro said.
“We lost the tournament, but I could see potential, and started talking to the principal about running some training sessions and possibly getting a team together for this year.
“Some trialled, some left, some got injured, but at the end we got girls from grade four to grade eight and that’s how things got started.”
Castro has a strong football pedigree, with his dad making the squad for El Salvador in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, while Jaime himself was planning on playing in England before injury curtailed his career.
His passion for soccer is as clear as a beautiful blue sky, but it’s his love for girls’ football that has now grown.
“My friends know my background, they know my passion for football, but now I am so passionate about girl’s football because they’re there to listen, to follow instructions, and they have a burning desire to improve and compete,” Castro said.
“They didn’t know each other before this team came together, because of the age difference, and now they talk to each other at training and at school.
“I have fallen in love with women’s football because they are so coachable and so enjoyable to watch.”
And the girls’ passion has grown as well.
“They used to come to training in school shirts, but now they come in the colours of Argentina, Brazil and Germany,” he said.
“And they love watching the World Cup; they come to training and talk about it and their heroes are right in front of them on the TV.”
Falcons FC has been a goal-scoring force this season, with a best result of 11-0, while a 10-0 victory on the weekend has them closing in on 100 goals for the season.
Castro won’t take the credit, but his elite football experience is certainly rubbing off on the girls.
“I teach them the way I got coached, using the ABC’s of football,” he explained.
“Agility, Balance, Coordination and Speed…they’re the ABC’s of football and that’s what they’re learning right now.
“The initial training was me teaching them how to play as a block, moving left to right, forward or back, and other teams don’t know how to do that yet.
“We have different players with different skills and it’s exciting to watch them play.
“One of strikers played (Australian Rules) football, and the other was a runner, so it’s exciting to see them expand their skills on the soccer field.”
The school and Castro are enjoying themselves so much…they’ve now decided to expand the program as well.
“From a simple idea, now it’s turned into something more like a dream than a reality,” Castro said.
“I created a soccer academy, which is called Brazil Football Academy, and I am basically coaching the girls through that.
“It started as a school team, but now we’ve decided to become a club.
“We have boys that are interested, and will hopefully have three teams in the VCFA next year.
“We’re looking at under-8 mixed and under-11 or under-12 boys to sit alongside the girls’ team we already have.
“Watching the girls train has motivated others kids to get out there and have a go.”
Falcons FC will host trials later in the year, with a committee to be put in place to drive the club moving forward.
Falcons FC have also been lobbying to council to try and find a new pitch; currently relying on the generosity of others in order to have a place to call home.
