Thistles sharpen their claws

Five players from the Helensburgh Junior Soccer Club have been selected to play for the Wollongong Wolves in 2005.

Courtney and Emma Lehane will play in the U16 Girls team while Jade Stewart and Emily Doran will play in the U14 Girls side. Rachel Vermeer has also been selected but has decided to remain with Helensburgh.

It is the first time Helensburgh players have made the representative team.

Club president Mark Shapter said it was a fantastic achievement for these young women to be selected. 

“Girls soccer is the fastest growing sport in Australia and Helensburgh Junior Soccer is at the forefront of this growth in the Illawarra,” he said. 

“Helensburgh Junior soccer is very proud of these girls and wishes them all the best during next year’s season.”

All the girls have played for Helensburgh for many years, contributing to the growth of girl’s soccer within the club.

Jade was the inaugural winner of the Helensburgh Junior Soccer Club’s “Ken O’Keefe Memorial Shield” in 2004.

This prestigious award will be presented to an outstanding female player from the club at future presentation days.

Representative commitments will involve the girls travelling to Wollongong two nights a week for training, with a game every weekend. Courtney and Emma are both referees for Helensburgh, so will spend most of their weekends on the soccer fields.

The committee of the soccer club meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm in the clubhouse and welcomes new faces and new ideas. For more information, visit www.HelensburghSoccer.org