Team Profile: 16 Boys - Proudly Sponsored by Einhell Australia

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Another of our Team Profiles.  This time around Danny Martinez gives us his thoughts on his very talented 16 Boys squad.

Editor: Danny, last year's squad won nearly everything on offer and we thought that it would be a while before we saw another squad like that. But watching the boys trial it looks like you may have a squad as good, if not better than, last year's. Your thoughts?

Danny:  Yeh, look I've had a lot of luck in retaining about half of last years 16s as well as selecting the best from last years 14s. So the plus there is that everyone's fairly familiar with one another's game and we have a good mix of about 50/50 top age and bottom age players.  The only new players are my goalkeeper Jamie Jallad who's new to this level of futsal and Marko Filipovic who has returned after a year at Sydney City. The team so far is gelling well and I have high expectations of this squad.  And now that a lot of the boys have had a taste of what it takes to win it all, I'm sure they are hungry to repeat it.

Editor: What can we expect to see from this team this year?

 

Danny:  The boys are learning a new defensive system at the moment and so far so good with understanding all of it.  I have a good mix of players with speed to burn all over the court.  We have been working on a lot of counter attack as well, which is an area that I thought needed work.  I dont want to give too much away to our opposition reading this so my short answer would be:  expect a team that will be up in those top 4 spots come the end of January.

Editor: Can you tell us a little bit about each player?

 

Danny:  Sure, here we go one-by-one:

 

Jamie:  Our new goalkeeper, so far a shy lad among the boys but is slowly opening up and so far as a player has shown some great potential as a shot stopper.  Look forward to seeing this player grow as the year goes on.

 

Shawn:  A player that is slowly turning into a leader around the court, very clever player with one of the softest touches in the game.  He has already had his opportunity to step up and match it with the Youth and Men's teams and hasn't looked out of place so I am expecting a big year from him.

 

Anson:  Getting better and better as the weeks go on.  Will prove to be a vital player getting his job done for the team as he has done week after week for me in the past.

 

Ben10:  He has that bulldog like approach!  Doesn't stop running and leaves everything on the court.  Looks hungry as ever after having a year off due to injury.  Great team player and knows where the goals are.  Will be a go to man in important matches.

 

Mati:  The team clown!  Haha, but a great player, fantastic speed and footwork and also reads the game very well!. Will be key for us this year.

 

Luke:  Very silky feet and smart player being his first year in 16s.  Can learn a lot from the older boys in the team but will develop into a fantastic player as the season goes on.

 

Lachy:  Big, strong, fast and skillful: has everything you need in a player.  Fantastic at applying pressure high up the court.  Will be great for us on the counter attack.

 

Trent:  Another youngster but I will look to him to lead the boys from the back of the court this year as a great pivot with fantastic passing ability.

 

Marko:  Has returned this season to be back in the purple and orange. So far has been great in the pre-season with fantastic goals and assists.  Will be an important player this season.  This being is first year in 16s still showing so much potential to be another go to man in important matches.

 

Nads:  Fantastic player to coach.  Listens to everything and executes with ease.  Great at applying pressure on the ball.  With size not on his side I still very rarely see him pull out of, or lose, a 1 on 1 battle!

 

Editor: Anything else you'd like to add?

Danny:  Goodluck to all the teams.  Especially all the Quake teams.  Looks like its going to be a very exciting season ahead.  Cant wait!!!!

Last Modified on 08/10/2012 10:46

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