THE future of Bathurst girls soccer is in safe hands - or should we say, feet - with five of the city's students named in NSW Country teams.
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Bathurst High School's Joely Anderson and Menzi White along with Scots All Saints College boarder Ella Rose-Hawes have been selected in the under 15s team while Mackillop College duo Isabelle Wilson and Claire Ferguson will play for the under 14s.
The Western NSW Mariners FC quintet will be aiming to give it their all for the sky blue during the upcoming Football Federation Australia Girls National Youth Championships, to be held at Coffs Harbour from July 15 to 19.
The championships are the pathway towards potential junior Matildas selection, a road fellow Central West talents like Ellie Carpenter and Anna Hunt have done before them.
Midfielder Anderson, who turns 15 on Wednesday, was selected in the under 14s NSW Country team last year and has a good idea already about what to expect at the national level.
"I've had some experience at this level," she said.
"It takes a fair while to get here. We had three camps before the actual competition. They each go for three days and were fairly intense."
Those training camps were not easy to qualify for in their own right.
Only a little over 30 players were selected for each age group and from there a final NSW squad was chosen.
"There's a lot of tough competition in the 15s but I was fairly confident I could make it through," Anderson said.
"When you play at this national level it's very physical and fast."
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White will come into the event with plenty of top-tier football to her name, having recently taken part in a tour to France to watch the FIFA Women's World Cup and take on French institute teams.
Wilson and Ferguson will get their first taste of Youth Championships on the coast.
The chance to not only represent NSW Country but play alongside a schoolmate is something that excites centre back Wilson, 13.
"The camps were good. The training's very hard but all the other girls there made it really fun and we learned a lot," she said.
"Claire and I are very good mates and we met through Mariners last year. We've become closer since then.
"I was nervous at the camps because I thought the other girls were really good."
Ferguson, 12, said her selection came as a big surprise considering the striker didn't have the opportunity to attend every training camp.
"It's great having your friends around, especially from the same school," she said.
"I'm pretty lucky because I didn't go to the second camp but got picked for the third camp. I didn't get picked for the second camp but they were watching me and gave me the chance to go to the next camp, which made me really happy.
"The Mariners have really helped me throughout the years and allowed to progress my skills."
The under 15s will begin their tournament against South Australia while the 14s opening their competition against the Northern Territory.
Under 15s will play first past the post but the 14s will aim to top their pool for a finals spot.