Canberra United competed in its second Powerchair Football Club Championships in early May, putting in a string of excellent displays and coming close to securing a maiden victory with a series of top class performances that showcased the improvement in the squad from 2022.
Players, coaches, and parents were delighted to be able to display to the rest of the country the development and work put into the program over the last few years.
During the week, Canberra United Powerchair team competed against the likes of Newcastle Jets, Hills United, and Lions FC, the competition boasting some of the best Powerchair players in the world.
The competition was a great learning curve for our players but the improvement that was shown from the first game to the very last was incredible.
Canberra United captain, Brandon Stroud, who scored his first goal at the competition with a superb long-range effort in the defeat to Lions FC, thoroughly enjoyed the experience and is excited to see how much United can improve moving forward.
“Sydney FC ran an intensive Powerchair training camp at the AIS with six of our aspiring Powerchair athletes,” Stroud revealed post-tournament.
“This training camp was very worthwhile, setting the team up for a better Club Championships campaign in early May. Since competing in 2022, Canberra United now understand what to expect, acknowledging that the teams competing are no easy beats and will provide severely tough opponents.
“All the teams noticed how much we had improved since last year when the Canberra United powerchair team had competed in the Powerchair Football Club Championships. The best part of the Club Championship for me was seeing how much the team had grown over a year and being able to catch up with friends.
“I look forward to seeing how much more the Canberra United Powerchair team can improve before our next competition. Go Canberra United and United Always.”
United were lead in the competition by Head Coach Mark Barnes who was extremely proud of the way the team conducted themselves, on and off the court, with some brilliant individual, and team, moments to cherish.
“As Head Coach, I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts and improvement shown by everyone on the team,” Barnes said.
“We went into the competition confident in our ability to challenge teams throughout the tournament, with the goal of improving with every game we played. It was about the mid-point of the competition that the game plan clicked, and the steep improvement shone.
“My favourite moment of the trip was our only goal from Brandon Stroud, Canberra United captain. After twelve months of eagerness to score his first National Championship goal, Brandon capitalised on a mistimed pass to net the goal from past halfway.
“The excitement shown on Brandon’s face after the goal was awarded is all that we want to see as coaches. I’m very excited to see their development over the next 6-12 months in preparation for the next Club Championships.”
Capital Football are always looking for more players and volunteers to be involved in the Powerchair program. If you, or anyone you know is keen to give Powerchair a try, please get in touch.
Canberra United Powerchair would like to thank Capital Region Muscular Dystrophy for their support in making this happen, as well as the support from Gungahlin United FC, Woden Valley SC, Local Peoples, and Rotary. Your support never goes unnoticed.
MATCH RESULTS
Match 1: Newcastle Jets 13-0 Canberra United
Match 2: Melbourne City 11-0 Canberra United
Match 3: Hills United 8-0 Canberra United
Match 4: Lions FC 4-1 Canberra United
Match 5: Adelaide Comets 6-0 Canberra United
Match 6: Western Sydney Wanderers 8-0 Canberra United
Match 7: Sydney FC 2-0 Canberra United
Match 8: Moreton Bay Jets 0-0 Canberra United
Match 9: Moreton Bay Jets 1-0 Canberra United
