One of Forster’s youngest sports stars, Riley Van Haren has taken another huge stride in a promising football career.
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Thirteen-year-old Riley, a long-term member of Football Mid North Coast, has been selected in the NSW Country North under 13 boys State team to compete at the Football Federation Australia National Futsal Tournament in Sydney in January 2019.
Riley played in this event earlier this year in Canberra and had a strong tournament leading the goal scoring for the NSW Country North team and just missing out on the semi-finals with the Solomon Islands running out eventual winners of the under 12 boys age.
NSW Country North Boys will again play strong teams from around Australia and overseas with the hope of making a strong run into the finals.
Locally, Riley played for the Football Mid North Coast National Premier League (NPL) under 13s squad in 2018 and has recently been selected in the FMNC under 14s National Premier League squad again for 2019.
As if this weren’t enough, Riley has also has been invited to tour England and Scotland with George the Cowie Football Academy of West Ham United Football.
The two week tour will see Riley literally hit the ground running as he heads first to Manchester in late November.
The tour includes academy coaching sessions, competitive games and an opportunity to attend top class EPL, Scottish Premier League and Champion League games in the UK and Scotland.
Former West Ham United player, director and head coach of George Cowie Football Academy, Paul Heffer said he was delighted to have Riley on board.
“We first saw Riley when he attended one of our regional camps at Valentine, Lake Macquarie in July, then again at our four day National Residential Camp on the Gold Coast in September,” he said.
“Riley is a very good young player with a terrific attitude who will benefit greatly from the experience in the UK.
“During the trip he will have coaching sessions at West Ham United, Wolverhampton, Rangers the Scottish FA and Hugh McAuley Academy, and will also play six games against professional academy opposition teams.
“He will also attend six top class games in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues as well as the Champions League. All up, this will provide Riley with a complete UK football experience.”
Paul added he had plans to bring the academy program to the Forster Tuncurry region next July, to enable more local players to access the great opportunity.
Whilst Riley’s first passion and number one priority is soccer, his skills extend to a wide range of sports, and he often represents the Mid North Coast and St Clare’s High School in a number of different sports.
