A squad of talented young female footballers from South Melbourne FC are about to embark on an 18-day tour to the US later this month, where they’ll compete in two major collegiate tournaments.
Tour leader and SMFC womens senior coach Socrates Nicolaidis will take the squad of 18 players, from the ages of 15-18, to compete in the annual Orange Classic and the Disney Showcase Collegiate tournaments, conducted back to back in Florida, and which attract over 1,500 players and more than 100 college coaches hoping to recruit new talent into their college squads.
The squad from Melbourne will play at least six matches against teams from all over the US and Canada.
Nicolaidis has an inside knowledge and numerous connections within the US college football scene, having lived and coached in the US for 15 years, including a stint as an assistant volunteer college coach at Philadelphia University. As well as being the women’s senior coach at South, he heads the team at Matchfit Australia, an organisation which offers pathways for young footballers into the US college football system.
“Because of my connections with all the (US) coaches, I’ve told them we’re bringing players [and] they’re very, very keen because they love the Australian mentality,” he says of the upcoming tour.
“They think our girls are really driven and really hard to play against. That’s the comment I’ve heard from friends in the USA.”
Nicolaidis believes the experience of travelling and playing in these highly-competitive tournament conditions, against opponents keen to impress scouting college coaches, will benefit the South Melbourne group of players both on and off the field.
Off the field, he believes the experience of having to take responsibility and be in charge of their schedule, on what will be a busy tour, will help the players develop and mature. On the field, the biggest benefit he hopes to see is reinforcing and strengthening the belief in playing the certain style of football that is being taught at South.
“Then to be able to take it internationally against really strong players that are fighting to get into colleges and be successful. If we can be successful in that, I think these girls can come back and hopefully raise the standard and level of intensity at training back home.”
According to Nicolaidis, Matchfit Australia offers a number of programs aimed at creating another pathway for young players to develop their education, character and football talent within the US college system.
“It’s a one-off, unique experience that can lead to opportunities later in life,” he says.
“And that’s not taking anything away from going to Melbourne Uni and playing for South Melbourne. There’s nothing wrong with that. The difference is they’re in a professional environment. The facilities are like Melbourne City’s facilities. They’ll be treated like professionals, but they’re amateur students. They travel around the country on buses and planes representing their schools. It’s just another level of elite football representation between individuals and schools.
“So that’s how Matchfit College became a reality. I try and keep that part of my life’s work and South Melbourne separate. But the club likes the idea of being able to create another pathway for players to be able to go to college, play soccer, come back better people, maybe play for South or whatever the case may be. But they’re really 100 per cent behind me. And we’ve got some ideas down the track about creating a tournament here and having girls from all over Australia come and play and bringing college coaches here. It would be a lot cheaper.”
More information for players interested in college football is available at matchfitaustralia.com.au