Inverell under 10's have returned home from the 2019 Australian Schools Futsal Championships held in Brisbane during the first week of the school holidays.
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The team played extremely well considering that this was their first ever Futsal tournament, something not lost on the Far NNSW technical director Renee Markham.
"The kids played so well, they should be so proud. They were very close to going all the way, the results were very tight"
The team won three games during the group stages which saw them finish fourth in their pool.
From there they had to cross pools and play the first placed team to progress to the major semi-final, a game they eventually lost 5-2.
"It was a massive achievement to just win a game let alone three, and to make finals was very exciting," coach Browett said.
"The kids are very high functioning, they can adapt to changes very quickly, I think that's why they went so well. They learnt from their mistakes in the first couple of games and just got better as the tournament went on."
Testament to the quality of the Inverell team, eight players have been selected to represent Australia at various international tournaments next year. Ben Browett was selected to play in the Australian under 9 team to tour Spain in 2020.
Makayde Goldman was the youngest player to be selected to play in the Australian 12-13 year girls' team to play in Spain in 2020.
Will Browett, Nicolas Alliston, Tom Putter and Nic Morelli were selected to represent Australia in the under 11s team that play in the USA championships in California 2020.
Evan Burgess and Sam Burns were selected to tour China in an Australian team 2020.
The players were ranked in their respective age groups by a panel of selectors from the first three days of play. The top 30 players from each age group were then offered positions in the National teams.
"It is certainly a feather in their cap for sure. To come into a tournament of this calibre and not be overawed, is a testament to their maturity as players. Sure they muck around and have plenty of fun when they are not playing, but they can turn it on come game time.
"It's definitely a special group of kids, to have eight players selected to represent Australia at international tournaments from a player pool of over 300 kids talks to the talent that this group have."
The coach has already received interest from tournament directors inviting this team to participate in various upcoming events in Brisbane and Sydney.
