Rockingham City under-11s (standing) Callum Bonnie, Nathan Spiranovic, Joshua van Dyk, Cassidy Wylie, Tino Mutema, George Jones and coach Nathan Jones with (kneeling) Lucas Byrne, Oliver Jones, Owen Carter, Sidney Magumise and Aiden Pearce.
Camera IconRockingham City under-11s (standing) Callum Bonnie, Nathan Spiranovic, Joshua van Dyk, Cassidy Wylie, Tino Mutema, George Jones and coach Nathan Jones with (kneeling) Lucas Byrne, Oliver Jones, Owen Carter, Sidney Magumise and Aiden Pearce. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Soccer: Rockingham City representatives bouncing ahead of Kanga Cup

Tim SlaterWeekend Kwinana Courier

The youngsters from the club’s under-11 team have been hard at work fundraising since January.

They will be the only WA side among the 394 teams, comprising about 6000 children who will play in the week-long tournament, starting on Monday.

Coach Nathan Jones said a lot of local businesses had supported the team.

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“We’ve got there purely from fundraising,” he said.

He said the competition would provide the players with an opportunity they would always remember.

“I’m looking forward to the kids experiencing what life as a footballer is all about,” he said.

“They will be playing and training and we’re hoping to go to the Australian Institute of Sport and see how professionals do it.”

Jones believed his team was good enough to go a long way in the competition and was hoping to at least make the semi-finals.

“If we make the semis I’ll be over the moon,” he said.

“I would love to win it, to be honest, and I don’t see why we can’t.”

He said the team had been playing well this season.

“The football that they have been playing has been fantastic,” he said.

“They’ve been passing it around the park and every week we have coaches from other teams saying how well they are playing, which is nice.”

Jones said it would be the first time the players had competed in an interstate event.

But it will take a bit of getting used to the Canberra weather, with the mercury plummeting to -4C in the morning and some games kicking off at 8am.

“It will be an exciting experience and the support we have received from the club and Rockingham public has just been brilliant,” he said.

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