2022 - A term in review 

The phrase 'full steam ahead' is the best way to describe term 1, 2022 for the Keilor Downs College Soccer School students and staff. After the interruptions of the previous two years due to the pandemic, our students came back to school with a desire to train, improve and continually challenge themselves. The term began with our new after school program structure to ensure that all students are in the right category for their current level of competence. As the term went on, we made changes to the groups in consultation with our coaches that saw clear evidence of improvement in certain individuals that were focused on doing extra work at home to move up to a different group.

We also welcomed a special guest visitor to our program with Italian Serie A club scout Domenico Gangemi (Atalanta) visiting us and providing some new knowledge and feedback on our program. Dom contacted us on Linkedin after seeing the work that we were doing and gave us a glowing report on his social media and at a coaching conference in Queensland. 

Our annual participation in the School Sport Victoria Premier League Cup for senior students and our year 7 and 8 competitions took center stage, and we were lucky enough to achieve some new milestones for our (relatively) young program. In the first round of the competition, we had our first-ever "double" over a powerhouse in terms of sports colleges, when the girls (3-2) and the boys (1-0) hosted and defeated Rowville Secondary College in a special opening round.

Although the girls were unable to back up the result against SEDA (4-1 loss) and Maribyrnong (6-0 loss), the youthful nature of this generation means that for the first time ever, we will have a core of year 11 and 12 girls primed and ready to perform in the 2023 competition and hopefully go one step better and reach the Grand Final.

That feat was achieved for the first time ever by our boys, who finished on top of their group with two wins and a draw, and qualified for the final after a forfeit from a Covid-affected SEDA Kensington in the semi final.

The grand final against John Fawkner College was a cagey encounter that was separated by two key moments - an own goal following a Mo Miri cross from a corner, and a spectacular penalty save by year 11 keeper and recent Australian Under 17 squad member, Michael Vonja.

With the clean sheet secured, this exciting generation of players put years of disappointment behind them to be crowned 2022 Champions in a competition that has been dominated by Maribyrnong and Rowville. 

The trophy now sits proudly in the front office at Keilor Downs College as a reminder of what can be achieved with a meagre budget and a lot of heart, passion and hard work.

History was written on the 31st of March, and now we look forward to another group of boys working hard to reclaim the trophy for the college and continue to show the state that if the processes are in place, the score will eventually take care of itself.