By Nick Creely
There’s a vibe of positivity and hope surrounding the Endeavour Sporting Club in 2021.
With entry into the state league competition for the first time this season, the club’s senior women’s team continues to showcase passion and a thirst to work hard ahead of its first game in April.
Endeavour Sporting Club secretary Waleed Hassan said the girls were an inspiration as they continue to strive towards success on the pitch.
He said that they currently have the squad at 22 players, but would like to see more women join the club.
“The club’s feeling really good at the moment – we know that the girls are very disciplined and hard-working, and they get great enjoyment out of the game,” he said.
“They had a practice match last week, and not just watching the commitment, but the passion is there, they’re always clapping each other on and supporting each other.
“A lot of the girls come from families who have only recently come to Australia on refugee status.
“They’re all at school or have jobs, and our team manager, she’s actually working at a few hospitals – they’re just really keen to get on with their life in Australia, and loving everything they do.”
Hassan said that the women’s senior team has emerged in leaps and bounds, and despite the challenges of Covid, is an exciting part of the club’s future.
“There’s been interest in a senior women’s team, but this is the first year that they’ve got together to play football as a team,” he said.
“Last year we enrolled them into the competition, but because of Covid it didn’t happen.
“This year they’ve got together, and its exciting that they’re going into the state league.”
The women had an incredible opportunity recently, with the Melbourne Victory coming out and holding a coaching session, from which Hassan said the squad took an incredible amount of knowledge. The club is also interested in having an official relationship with the Victory.
“They loved it, it was great fun, and the response from the Melbourne Victory was great too,” he said.
“They enjoyed being out here and we’ve been corresponding with them a lot, and the interest they’ve given us is really cool.
“The girls had a great time, they learned a lot in that one training session, (and) we saw a lot of improvement.”
Hassan said that the next challenge for the women’s team was to bring in a senior coach.
“We have got a bit of interest in the job, but nothing confirmed – the good thing is, we’ve got our pre-season rolling early, and we’re on the hunt for a coach in the women’s and in the juniors as well,” he said.
“There’s a few things going on at the club.”
The club is also excited about upgrades to its new home ground at Chalcot Lodge in Endeavour Hills, with new lights and a fresh new surface adding to the momentum.
Hassan said that the club is planning to open the new ground this season with a party at the official launch.
“There’s no official opening, but we want to make a big deal out of it – we’ll contact a gentleman by the name of Scott Stanley, from Casey Council who we regularly deal with for the pitches,” he said.
“We’ve transitioned from James Cook Reserve too – they’ve installed new lights and taken care of the pitch, which looks outstanding.”
