Football: Kids shine on Aussie tour

The NFF girls team showed plenty of promise and improvement at the M Sports Cup in Sydney, Australia.

Northern Football went toe to toe with top Australian teams at the M Sports Cup in Sydney.

Taking 12- and 13-year-olds away from their family for five days was never going to be an easy task, but the team spirit created by the 32 boys and girls saw some leaders coming to the fore.

All the players from both teams showed maturity and politeness beyond their years - on and off the pitch.

They learned a lot during the tour; on the pitch, the level at which the very best teams play at, off the pitch, they had an insight into how teams prepare for games and how professional players need to be.

The players experienced many firsts, including ice baths, pool recovery sessions, video analysis, team meetings and individual meetings - all of which will all become the norm as they get older and play at higher levels.

NFF's player development officer Martin Bullock said the tour was a great success.

"I'm sure all the players now have the confidence to embrace this kind of tour in future in the knowledge that they can take care of themselves and make lasting friendships while bonding with their team mates," he said.

"Many players carried on playing through pain and discomfort for the good of their team which demonstrated their attitude and team spirit which is required at higher levels of football.

On the pitch, the girls experienced some difficult results, however they improved in their performances as the tournament progressed.

The boys performed exceptionally well in all six games and managed to push all the teams they came up against right to the end.

Their biggest defeat was 3-1, which shows how close each game was.

Like the girls, they played against Central Coast Mariners Academy and Newcastle Jets Academy, which shows the level they were up against.

A return of one win and two draws wasn't a true reflection of how well the team performed.

A big focus was placed on player recovery and how it is as important as training.

The youngsters learned about looking after themselves physically, what they eat, drink and that the amount of sleep they get can have an incredible effect on how well they are able to perform on the pitch.