Courtesy: Inner West Weekly


Little Strikers make a big impact on field

by Fiona Brady

16Apr08

INTRODUCING the gutsy Strathfield Strikers under-8s the team who never gave up.

Despite losing 17 out of 17 games and conceding 193 goals in the recent inner city futsal tournament, these good sports refused to throw in the towel.

Futsal is the most accepted form of indoor soccer and is recognised around the world.

Team manager Mahendra Tharmarajah, whose six-year-old son Aidan plays in the squad, agrees his team are "winners".

"Our boys are only six but they were playing in the under-8s futsal competition," he said.

"We tried to emphasise the teamwork rather than the winning or losing and so the boys just enjoyed themselves and didn't worry about the score.

"They rationalised the results by saying, 'the other teams are a lot bigger than us'."

The three goals the Strikers did score during the tournament caused major excitement among the team and their supporters.

"They were great goals," the proud manager said.

And things are looking up for the Strathfield Strikers.

The outdoor soccer competition started a fortnight ago and the boys have got off to a great start by winning their first two games of the season.

But there's no sign of any Maradona-style egos developing, according to Mr Tharmarajah.

"Their skills have developed a lot since the futsal competition, but more importantly, they're playing against teams who are the same age as them," he said.

"Win or lose, they have fun."






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com