The Weekly Times - TWT - 6th June 2018

Wednesday 6 June, 2018 THE WEEKLY TIMES 9
Socceroos defender kicked-off career as star North Ryde striker
By CHRIS KARAS
SYDNEY FC international Alex Wilkinson is one of
Australia’s best defenders, so fans may be surprised he
was a goal-scoring machine in his junior days at North
Ryde Soccer Club.
From the age of five,
gifted Wilkinson built a
reputation as a sharpshooting
striker in the
Gladesville-Hornsby
Football Association
– notching a bagful of
goals for North Ryde
with his lethal right
boot.
For eight seasons the
East Ryde schoolboy finished
near the top of the
goal-scoring charts, slotting
in many a goal at the
club’s North Ryde Oval
and Magdala Park home
grounds.
“I played up front for the
North Ryde club up until
the age of 12 and fancied
myself as an out and out
striker,” Wilkinson told
The Weekly Times.
The following year his
dreams were shattered
when selectors named
him as a defender in
Gladesville-Hornsby’s
junior representative
team.
“I really thought I had
a future as a centre forward
but the local soccer
pundits knew better,” he
laughed.
Wilkinson would go on
to become one of the
country’s best central defenders
and represent the
Socceroos at the 2014
FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
“I remember my junior
soccer days so vividly,”
he said.
“North Ryde officials
identified me as a striker
NoRtH Ryde Soccer
Club is one of many
local clubs riding football’s
tidal wave in popularity
and the growth
it has experienced over
the last five years is set
to continue, says club
president James Howard.
He was on hand to greet
Sydney FC’s star defender
and former junior
Alex Wilkinson when he
dropped in to North Ryde
Oval last week during
training for the under-11
and under-13 teams.
“We’re proud of Alex’s
achievement and we’re
lucky he’s a great role
model for kids that is
passionate about the
game,” Mr Howard told
The Weekly Times.
“We’re a communitybased
club that caters for
and I really enjoyed roving
away up front in search of
goals.
“I could kick the ball
hard with accuracy and
managed to score plenty
of goals for the team.
“But that all changed
when I became a teenager
and started to make
the junior representative
sides.”
Gladesville-Hornsby selectors
anointed Wilkinson
in the centre back
role and the rest is history.
Wilkinson dropped in
to visit his old stomping
ground last week, meeting
some of North Ryde
Soccer Club’s under-11
and under-13 players,
answering their questions
and happily posing for
photos with them.
He says his approach
to his sport only changed
from the age of 15 or
16 when he decided he
wanted to pursue a career
as a professional - “before
then it was all about
having fun”.
That approach is the
advice he has for younger
players, who in Wilkinson
also have a compelling
example of the importance
of being able to
competently slot into any
role.
The prolific goal-scoring
youngster who menaced
opposition defences in
his formative years would
make a career-changing
positional change to become
one of Australia’s
everyone - from the ages
of six to 60.
“That includes both
players aiming for bigger
and better things at
representative level and
those interested more in
the social side of things
and the cameraderie that
our game offers.”
He said the club catered
to both boys and girls,
men and women to ensure
the cub continued to
reflect its community and
a more recent focus on
registrations for its girls
teams “had worked well”.
“We’re now looking at
extending the path-way
for junior players by
hopefully fielding a team
in Gladesville Hornsby
Football Association's
Super League,” he said.
Mr Howard said the
club had experienced
best stoppers.
Wilkinson honed his
skills with the Northern
Spirit and Australian
Youth soccer teams before
stamping his mark
in the A-League with the
Central Coast Mariners,
Melbourne City and current
premiers Sydney FC.
The Gladesville resident
went on to earn 16 caps
with the Socceroos, represent
his country at a
FIFA World Cup and collect
an Asian Cup winners
medal in 2015.
Wilkinson didn’t make
the cut for the Socceroos’
2018 World Cup campaign
in Russia, but understands
its a decision
temporary Socceroos
coach, Bert van Marwijk,
had to make.
But it would be a brave
commentator to declare
Wilkinson’s time as a
Socceroo has reached its
end - in fact, an imminent
return is on the cards.
Earlier this year, when
van Marwijk was finalising
the Socceroos squad,
assessing potential inclusions
at a Sydney FC
game, coach Graham Arnold
took the opportunity
in his post-match commentary
to plug Wilkinson’s
sold performance.
“He’s solid as a rock
all the time. He’s a top
defender. I couldn’t be
happier,” Arnold said of
Wilkinson after his side’s
four-nil hammering of
Wellington Pheonix.
five years of consecutive
growth in registrations
with total numbers at
more than 500 and further
growth anticipated.
“With all the units going
up in the area, we're
expecting numbers to
reach into the high 600s,”
he said.
But Mr Howard, like
many local sports advocates,
was aware of the
challenges that came
with that growth, including
a shortage of sporting
facilities to cater for
demand.
Ryde independent
councillor Roy Maggio -
considered by many the
area’s unofficial Minister
for Sport - said overdevelopment
was adversely
impacting the ability of
existing facilities to cater
to local sporting groups.
ENJOY THE GAME AND HAVE FUN: Alex Wilkinson visited North Ryde Soccer Club where under-11
players Sam Cunningham, Liam Martin, Lucas Jefferson, Zac Jefferson, Yazmyn Buonocore and
Nicholas Coroneos were taking his advice about having fun. They proudly wore their North Ryde kit,
featuring the logo of major sponsor and community-focused local business, Cox’s Road Mall. TWT
On-the-Spot PHOTO
“He’s such a smart player.
Whoever plays next
to him always plays well.
He’s such a good communicator.”
“We’re seeing an unsustainable
increase in population
and inadequate
infrastructure to cater for
that - this simply means
we’ll see a decrease in
service to all residents
unless we make some
hard decisions now,” Cr
Maggio told The Weekly
Times.
“On the other hand, one
of the rare benefits - and
there aren’t many - is
that great communityfocused
sporting groups
like North Ryde Soccer
Club will grow and become
more visible in the
area.
“It’s happening across
the board with football
and now with the Socceroos
at the World Cup
and the Matildas in the
upcoming womens World
Cup to inspire kids, we’ll
If Wilkinson didn’t know
already how highly he
was regarded by Arnold,
he certainly did now.
At the end of the this
see another spike in participation.”
He said North Ryde
Soccer Club’s contribution
to the game was
clear for all to see, as
the club that produced
Wilkinson who has gone
on to achieve success in
a stellar career as one of
the game’s best defenders
and role models, with
a likely return to the Socceroos
squad likely.
“With ambassadors like
that, you can’t go wrong,”
he said.
In yet another indicator
of football’s expected
future growth, the sports
top administrator this
week announced the
Federal Governmentfunded
Sporting Schools
program had seen a drastic
increase in numbers.
Football Federation
year’s FIFA World Cup finals,
Arnold won’t need
to go to such elaborate
lengths for his views to be
taken into consideration.
Australia (FFA) said there
had been a 67 per cent
increase in students taking
part in their Sporting
Schools program with
more than 83,000 participants
enjoying the program
last year.
The Sporting Schools
Primary Football program
is predominately
delivered by Hyundai A-
League and Westfield W-
League clubs as part of
FFA’s four year strategy
to connect all the parts
of the game and convert
participants into fans of
both leagues.
“Football is the largest
club-based participation
sport in Australia with
more than 1.15 million
participants,” FFA chief
executive officer David
Gallop said.
“And history shows that
That’s when he takes up
his new role as Socceroos
supremo and decisions
on who’s in the squad will
be his.
Like football everywhere, North Ryde Soccer Club is growing
we get a new surge in
participation after every
World Cup.
“With the Caltex Socceroos
soon to take part
in the tournament in Russia
and the Westfield Matildas
already qualified
for next year’s Women’s
World Cup in France, we
know we will see more
and more kids wanting to
play the game.”
• City of Qyde
r If A LIVE SITE
SATURDAY
16 JUNE 6.00pm , .
Kick off at 8.00pm
ELS Hall Park, North Ryde
Visit ryde.rocks/FIFA or contact
our Events team on 9952 8222