‘It’s not luck’: the winning formula behind a sporting talent factory | Soccer
EEvery Monday morning, Anika Stajcic gets up before the sun. As she makes her way across Sydney to the Macquarie University sports fields, she puts on workout clothes and wakes up her body. Sydney FC’s training starts before 6am and ends just in time for the ‘little trek’ back west, where the 17-year-old striker has a full day of school, homework and all that stuff.
It looks similar on Tuesday. There is no morning practice time on Wednesday, but there is one at school in the afternoon. “We’ll do twice on Thursday,” says Stajcic. “So we have an education at school and then straight after school to Macquarie. And then we do sports here at school on Fridays and then do it twice again – school training and then Sydney.”
The weekends are game days, then it starts again. While she’s in 12th grade. And takes over the duties of the school captain. You get the picture – it’s a lot. But for Westfields Sports High School, only a lot will do. Only a lot gets you a place in football. And arguably, this talent factory has been the educational institution of choice for past and present Socceroos like Harry Kewell, Jason Culina, Aaron Mooy, Mat Ryan and Miloš Degenek.
Stajcic is following in the footsteps of high-profile alumni such as Matilda’s Ellie Carpenter, Alanna Kennedy, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Courtney Nevin. She herself was in Kyrgyzstan with Young Matildas, who scored 20 goals and didn’t concede in their first round of Asian Cup Under-20 qualifiers, and is making good use of her considerable workload at international level.
“It’s not really a coincidence,” she says. “We put a lot of work into it and it definitely helped. We did double sessions every day [Young Matildas] Camp in Melbourne and since I’ve done this most of my life it makes it a lot easier. When everyone else is tired and exhausted and can’t take it anymore – or get injured – it’s usually the Westfields kids who can move on.”
Of the 104 young men and women named in the recent Young Matildas (under 20), Young Socceroos (under 20), Junior Matildas (under 17) and Joeys (under 17) rosters, Stajcic is one of 20 current or former students of Westfields Sports High. Kory Babington, head of the school’s football program, says the high representation is no coincidence.
“Stability was a key foundation and the school only wants what’s best for the players,” says Babington. “We are proud of how many children we can help to have a career. There are no hidden agendas. There is no “Three points on the weekend is the most important thing” because it’s about the child. We drive the kids all the time. We have a good mix of old school values of hard work and being honest with the players.”
How does it look? “Just as we ask children about their commitment,” he says. “If they’re sick or tired or sore and want a training session off, that’s fine, but we have 20 kids right now who go to camps or national team tours and that rarely comes out of those kids’ mouths.
“We’ve had kids in the past who had a catch-up game with the A-League Academy on a Wednesday. They were at the gym at noon and doing their legs, which some people were complaining about. Then they would do an Open Boys session, which is banging here, and then they would go to the club and perform. It’s the same kids who, six months later, make the senior team and win the fitness test. It’s not luck.”
If it wasn’t already obvious, the focus is on building players that are both durable and technically sound. Additionally, both Babington and the school’s principal, Andrew Rogers, describe a “holistic” approach with a “balance between sport and science”. One that allows for some missed classes during training but ensures they are given opportunities and encouragement to catch up and has its own sports psychologist and training on healthy eating habits.
Rogers has been Principal since 2019, but as a teacher and then Deputy Principal at the school since 2004. Formerly a teenager, Mat Ryan and Bernie Ibini sat in the back row of his modern history class. “I don’t think they remember modern history,” he says, but follows his banter with a summary of the problems talented young footballers face – namely, being lost to academies and clubs before they can get their formal be able to complete training.
“We have some of the best athletes that this country is likely to see and we don’t want to let them vote. We want to support both sides of sport and education and we think clubs should at least support school-age students to go to school.”
The entire operation does not take place in a vacuum – the staff have strong ties to elite setups. These included, until recently, Young Matildas coach Leah Blayney and goalkeeping coach Brody Crane, who has previously worked at Young Socceroos, Young Matildas, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers and is now Senior Academy goalkeeping coach at Western United.
Former students and A-League men’s players Jason and Glen Trifiro are now staff members and Babington, who joined from Endeavor Sports High School in 2017, replaced current Young Socceroos head coach and Olyroos assistant Trevor Morgan. A number of graduates have been leaders in women’s coaching, including Heather Garriock and Catherine Cannuli, whilst former colleague Matilda Sarah Walsh is Football Australia’s head of women’s football. The result is a vast network of contacts within Australian football and means Sydney-based A-Leagues and NPL clubs are overflowing with Westfields students.
One is 11th grader Tiago Quintal, who represents Sydney FC U20 NPL team and has played in NPL 1. 16 Youth Championship.
“Indonesia was my first tournament,” says Quintal. “It was good, but at the same time it wasn’t good because we didn’t do that well.”
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Quintal completed his elementary schooling at King Park Public, from where students (Carpenter and Mooy both started there) are regularly trained at Westfields to build a technical foundation for an easy transition to the high school program.
He recently did a trial run in Europe and spent a fortnight at the Lyon academy. “When you look at the facilities there, it’s just amazing how much money they’ve put into it,” he says. “You have six-year-olds who come to Lyon and train and then it’s just life for them.
“Other players my age were about the same level, but as they get older they get very, very, very good. When they turn 18 and 19 they really start to separate from here in Australia.
“In the past few years, it has really helped a lot to train three or four times more than any other kid. Technical sessions, even if it’s just a simple technique for lacing a ball, just keep practicing and practicing. Then some players may not be able to do that in games, but we can do it every time.
Quintal’s biggest challenge — aside from trying to keep up with math while regularly missing classes — is his small stature and he’s focused on getting physically stronger so he can put himself on the senior NPL team can establish.
Stajcic is keen to impress Sydney coach Ante Juric and absorb whatever she can from teammates, some of whom are even more ex-pupils of Princess Ibini, Jada Whyman and Taylor Ray.
After her HSC, she hopes to go to university to study either sports science or communications while progressing with Sky Blues and national teams.
And she comes from a favorable family background – if the name sounds familiar, that’s because she’s the daughter of Alen, the former Matildas and Sydney FC women’s coach who will now lead the Philippines women’s national team to the World Cup.
“He was a teacher at our rival school, Hills Sports High School, so we always have good feuds – and my brother goes there now, so it’s even worse. But no, he’s a great coach and a great person. We are very lucky to have him.”
Stajcic has been spending the Covid-19 lockdown with her father, which has meant regular kickabouts and whenever he’s home they go to the park, often with friends and Alen’s assistant coach Nahuel Arrarte.
“When we’re on the field, he’s not my father. It’s good, I like it,” she says. “I like someone who’s hard on me, always on my back. I think that’s pretty important.
“I’m pretty resilient. I’ve never done Junior Matildas and I’ve only just started doing national teams. I guess I like being able to prove something and just showing people “you should have chosen me”. I like being the underdog and having to prove myself.”