Balgownie Junior Football Club

https://balgowniejuniors.com.au/shop/

# Congratulations to Zane Stevenson, a former Bally Junior who was selected in the Australian U17 Joey's squad yesterday as announced by Football Australia for an upcoming Tournament in Vanuatu.

# Zane's proud Mum Roberta Stevenson and Dad Troy Stevenson have dug out of the family archives this awesome photo of what they think is Zane's first Bally U6 game early on a Saturday morning on Ground 4 in 2013 - a short 11 years ago!

# Zane's Dad, Troy reports in the last 10 years since starting as a Balgownie Junior that Zane's pathway followed the following steps:

-> Zane played for Bally FC for a couple of years
-> Then to the SAP program for Football South Coast
-> Then moved onto Apia Leichhardt Tigers FC in youth NPL1
-> Then played the last couple of seasons at SydneyFC.
-> His team won the Nationals in Wollongong a couple of weeks ago
-> Now he has made the Joey's and he hopes to go to Europe at some stage to test himself v the best.

-> Zane's U17 Joey's Selection is for the Solomon Islands tour and camp, from there Football Australia select the final squad to play in October in Kuwait in Asian Cup Qualifiers.

-> Congratulations again to Zane and the whole Stevenson family including Zane's parents Troy and Roberta, siblings Samantha and Senna - who are all still locals and live on The Parkway, in Balgownie.

📰 Read more: https://bit.ly/3WuNCKC

Australia

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# Under 16: Division 3 - Shout out to our U16.3 boys team and their Coach Emir Y.

-> Emir says: With half the boys new to the team, a good team bond has formed and this is everything you can want in a team. We started slow but they are hungry to take on the challenge now and are fired up.

-> Over the season so far we have been working on finding the right game formation and positions for the boys to play and enjoy based on their strengths and skills. Week by week we have been also working on our weaknesses, eliminating errors in our game has payed off as we progress. We have come along way and found the correct combination.

-> Emir says he is super proud of them all and how far they have come and seeing them getting better and better every week. We are ready to turn the league table on it head…

# Thank you Emir and U16.3.

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# Under 12 Division 1 Girls - Shout out to our U12.1 Girls team and their Coach Matt M.

-> Coach Matt reports that he has a fantastic team of talented girls, who train hard each week and who did not lose a single game last season. This season the same girls have won 3 games and drawn 2 games. They love playing together and the relationships they have formed. As a Team they are currently working on:

- Structure / positional play
- Pass early, don’t hold the ball too long
- Getting wide / playing the triangles

-> Coach Matt has what he says is a simple strategy when they head out on the field and it involves 3 things…

1) have fun
2) intensity (1st to the ball)
3) pass the ball / we play as a team

-> Finally, they are always encouraging, never negative, even when a team mate makes an error. Team culture is king!

# Good luck to the U12.1 Girls Team and all Balgownie teams in action this weekend.

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# Under 18: Division 2 #

-> Shout out to our U18.2 Team, which Coach Josh B reports that after a slow start to the year with the stop/start weather, the team has hit it’s stride nicely with a settled team formation, an increase in skill and determination on the field, with some solid results ensuring that they have been unbeaten in their last 6 matches.

-> The Team is actively trying to find the right mix of year 12 studies, getting enough fitness and training in, with just the right amount of banter.

-> Coach Josh's final comment was that it has been a pleasure coaching these lads for many years and seeing them grow from kids to amazing young men. It’s been nice to allow them to have much of the decision making this year for ‘their’ team and seeing them continue to enjoy their last year of junior football.

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Great game by Under 7 teal vs purple on Saturday.
Great sportsmanship shown by both teams.

Last week Bally 13.1 & 13.2 teams joined together to train in preparation for the weekend games.

The boys worked hard and pushed each through the final week of school holidays!!

# Shout out to our U13 Division 4 boys team who play at home tomorrow morning at Judy Masters against Gerringong.

-> U13.4 Coach Kristy H, reports that the U13.4 boys are half U12 and half U13 players in an U13 comp which is tough on the younger players, but these boys don't let anything deter them.

A couple of the players are completely new to the game and others just haven't played together before, but they have improved dramatically as a team and won their first match against Bulli a few weeks ago.

A great group of kids who bring determination and a positive attitude every week to training and games. They will only get better and Coach Kristy is very proud of them!

# Good luck to U13.4 and the other 83 BJFC teams returning to action this weekend after the holiday break.

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Bite down into our delicious Crispy Flathead Burger!

Crispy beer battered flathead tails, lettuce, tomato, beetroot, red onion & sweet pickle mayo.

Available in Aunty Margs

Unfortunately the 15.1 boys run in the NSW state cup has come to end with a 1-0 defeat. Without bias they were the better team but unfortunately couldn’t put away their chances. That’s football sometimes.

The players and coaching staff would like to thank all BRFC and Balgownie Junior Football Club members who have supported them on this cup run. The crowd on the weekend was the biggest a junior side has seen in recent memory.

They still have plenty to play for this year as they sit on top of the table in their current Illawarra competition.

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We would also like to congratulate Zachary McNeill from this squad, who will later this week represent NSW in the u16 boys NAIDOC CUP squad (pictured here with his NAIDOC jersey with his fellow Bally team mates)

The 2024 NAIDOC Cup will once again be a three-day event from Wednesday 10th July to Friday 12th July.

The NAIDOC Cup coincides with NAIDOC Week, a national week held in July that celebrates the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Once again, Football NSW and Northern NSW Football will enter male and female teams in the under-14s and under-16s age groups, with squads made up of First Nations players.

The tournament will also engage First Nations coaches and referees from across the state. NNSWF will play host this year on Awabakal Land at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.

Our U15 boys played a great game against Collaroy in the State Cup today but unfortunately went down 1 nil. The boys should be very proud of their efforts today. It was great to see so many BJFC and Bally Ranger's supporters there to cheer them on.

Come along to Ian McLennan Oval tomorrow at 11am to support our U15’s in the State Cup. Come in your Bally gear.

Bunch of 'best mates' in Balgownie FC's U15 boys team search for Cup glory The State Cup semi-final will be played at Ian McLennan Park.

Unfortunately all games this weekend have been washed out and will be rescheduled at a later date.

Fingers crossed the we get to play some Football this weekend.
Another big weekend at BJFC if it goes ahead so we will need plenty of volunteers.
If you could spare an hour or two it would be greatly appreciated.

# Football NSW State Cup: Semi Final fixtures have been announced with our Balgownie U15 Division 1 Team scheduled to take on Collaroy Cromer at 11am this coming Sunday 7th July at Ian McLennan Park, Kembla Grange.

-> The photos associated with this post capture the euphoria on the pitch amongst our players when Sam Ugonotti slotted home the recent Quarter Final golden goal extra time winner to get the Team through to the Semi Final.

-> Good luck boys and if you are free on Sunday morning - please consider heading down to IMP to support the Team.

Such a good feeling to get games in this weekend!!

13.1 was the final game played at Judy Masters yesterday where the team had a 1-0 win over Bulli in a well contested match.

The team is very grateful to Tore and Marcus from Bally 13.2 team for helping them out this weekend.

The U12 Div 1 girls had an awesome game in the mud. They are looking pretty good from the front but their jerseys tell a different story when they turn around.
A great game against Bulli.

# Great to see Judy Masters busy on each and every ground all day today with the U13 Girls Division 2 and U13 Division 4 boys the last 2 of our teams today to hear the full time whistle at about 2:30pm this afternoon. These two teams completed an epic schedule of 45 games today.

-> Also special shout out to U11 Purple who played away today and who were unlucky not to come away with a win against Shellharbour. It finished 2-2. They battled hard all game and fantastic to see the progress they have been making. Well done girls!!

HELP NEEDED THIS WEEKEND

We have a huge weekend this weekend at BJFC. If you can help out for an hour or so with ground Marshall’s or BBQ helpers it would be greatly appreciated.