A Sunshine Coast youth soccer player has been extended a rare opportunity to showcase her skills at a training camp in Lyon, France this summer.
Mary Wood, 16, a student at Elphinstone Secondary School, was nominated by Colin Miller, technical director for the North Shore Girls Soccer Club, to participate in the week-long camp, which runs from Aug. 17 to 25.
Players are selected from teams across Canada and the U.S. to participate in Olympique Lyonnais Select, a camp overseen by generation adidas international, and will play friendlies against members of the Olympique Lyonnais Academy.
Woods’ goalkeeping talents and attitude were among the reasons Miller called her nomination a “no brainer.”
“She’s got a very good attitude, good leadership qualities, which is what we want to see as much as the girls having a good time playing football.”
Wood played for the North Shore club and has recently been invited to play for the High Performance League team Mountain United, where she had been playing as a substitute goalkeeper, as well as for the higher age group U18 team.
“Some of these trips can be really eye opening experiences for these players,” Miller said. “We’re really pleased for Mary and she’s delighted to take this opportunity.”
A donations page has been created to help pay for the portion of the trip that is not covered by the organization: www.gofundme.com/f/help-mary-get-to-france
