Healesville Soccer Club’s prowess in finding, developing and supporting talented young footballers was recently on show at the 2025 Christian Football Federation National Titles, held at Casey Fields in Cranbourne East between Sunday 28 and Wednesday 1 September.
The club’s Under 17 Girls received a special invitation to the tournament given their dominance in the Victorian Churches Football Association (VCFA) competition.
Co-captain Ava Holman said competing in the tournament was a lot of fun, it was a great experience to be able to have and they will all remember it for a lifetime.
“It was a mix of exciting and challenging to be playing against players across the country and New Zealand, many of us had played were already friends with the Victorian squad and had played against them throughout the season so it was fun to be able to pley them in the tournament,” she said.
“It was challenging being an unknown team, throughout the tournament we kept hearing ‘Who’s this red team’, ‘Sorry, how do we pronounce your team name’ and ‘Where are you from’ but we used this to our advantage,”
“We went into the tournament with the mindset that we had nothing to lose, no one is expecting anything from us so let’s show them what we are capable of.”
The two Healesville teams had finished first and second in the VCFA, but took on teams formed of the best players in each state’s competition, including the VCFA itself.
Holman said the Healesville girls knew they had better team chemistry over their opponents, as most of their players had played together for a few years.
“The other state teams had only been training together for a few weeks but we had been all playing and training together all season and we definitely were able to use that to our advantage in our games,” she said.
“While the rest of the teams had all their whole state squad supporting them, we only had our parents and coaches but it made us all fired up to be able to show them that we had earned our place to be there, even if we were the underdogs.”
Healesville’s players had previously been selected to represent the VCFA before, but being invited to play solely representing the club was a first.
Healesville Soccer Club’s Vice President Leesa Riley said this was a really exciting opportunity and one that Healesville has not experienced before.
“We have had individuals chosen for Victorian teams in the past but because of Healesville’s great success in the girls competition we were invited to attend, last year our two girls teams came first and second in the Under 16s girls competition showing the strength, skill and calibre of talent we have at Healesville,” she said.
“Healesville were well matched in the competition and all teams were extremely tight across the two days of heats, it came down to the very last game between Queensland and New Zealand and one goal to not make the semi finals,”
“We were third on the ladder midway through day two so it shows how strong the team were, the highlight was definitely winning against Queensland in the third heat, the girls came out on day two with a newfound belief in themselves and played flawlessly together.”
Healesville fielded an astonishing 18 junior teams this year, five of which were all female. Three Healesville teams placed runners up in their competitions and the Under 16 Girls also took out the Clubs Cup.
Holman said a highlight of the titles was definitely being able to sing the Healesville song after beating Queensland.
“None of us could believe that we, Healesville, a small country town, had beaten the state of Queensland, we all sung the song loud and proud,” she said.
“Another highlight from the tournament was hearing from one of my senior teammates say that we had inspired her two young sons to play in the tournament, they came and watched us for one game and we were able to spark enough interest in them that they now want to play in the tournament one day, that felt pretty special.”
The girls turned out in style, with specially-made kits for the tournament that Holman said they felt were ‘pretty eye-catching’.
Holman said she doesn’t think it’s possible to express how much she loves playing for Healesville.
“It is such a community, a family, I have always played at Healesville and one thing I really admire is how much the club values our female players, there is such a strong pathway and support for us that a player of any age whether it be eight or 38,” she said.
“Overall, it was a really great experience and to be able to say that us Healesville girls had played in a nationals tournament feels so cool and special and not to mention a huge thank you to everyone who made it possible,”
“From our parents driving us to the games to the never-ending support and commitment from our coaches, and last but not least to Healesville Soccer Club for giving us the opportunity to to really get Healesville’s name out there.”
The club and Ms Riley particularly would like to thank community sponsors and many club volunteers including the coach Glen for the opportunity to compete in the tournament.
Ms Riley said the highlight was also seeing the girls grow in confidence on and off the field and bond together as a team and meet new friends from across the states and New Zealand.
“Having four girls selected in the All Star Team and for our goalie Teah to win Golden Glove shows how strong we were as a team and as a club building incredible female players,”
“I am so proud that the girls took on the challenge and all not only participated but dedicated themselves to training after the official season had ended and giving it their all,”
“It means a lot to us to have a safe and inviting place for girls to come and play with their friends, build their skills and excel, at an age where they traditionally drop out of sport we are creating a thriving club for them to stay.”
Healesville also had Coach Lindsey and striker John-James O’Connell selected for the Senior Mens side representing the VCFA, Pip competing in the Under 17 Boys side and Max and Harry filling in for New Zealand’s Under 15 Boys side.
