Last September the Capital Football All Abilities Program was introduced with the intention of helping all ability athletes achieve their potential in a supportive space.

Fast forward a few months and they have a team representing their program playing futsal in the Div 5 competition at ANU on Friday nights.

The team provides a chance to showcase what the athletes are learning in training and give them the ability to apply their training into a game scenario.

The all ability team features players from the academy such as Jason Driscoll who was part of the inaugural Pararoos squad in 1999 and less experienced players such as Patrick Heath Jeffery.

For Patrick Heath Jeffery to be given the opportunity to represent the program is an honour.

“It feels pretty rewarding to be given opportunities like this at times. We are building bonds with our teammates and relationships with them, all while learning to build as a team,” Jeffery said.

Jeffery has played football and had coaches in the past but feels like he is getting more experience out of the program.

“I’m really enjoying playing as a team. They are all great people to be around, and I think it’s really fun,” Jeffery said.

“It is a good learning experience for us on the team and the others that come to training. Learning to play better football and even though we get beat sometimes we still enjoy it.”

By playing games in the local divisions, it shows that the athletes can compete with everyone and that they aren’t hindered by their disabilities.

Moving forward Jeffery hopes that he will be able to continue his training and passion for football.

“As the season goes on, I think we will see better skills from our team and more teamwork,” Jeffery said.

“Our main goal is really just improvement at the moment and becoming better football players.”