Thick fog greeted competitors for the second day of the National Youth Championships Girls' Tournament at the Home of the Matildas in Melbourne.
When the fog finally lifted, it revealed a thrilling day's action as teams progress through the group stage of the tournament, where Friday will be the final day of this phase.
Capital Football and Western Australia battled out a thrilling match in the Under 15 Age Group where Capital Football scored two goals in the final six minutes to win 3-2. While in the Under 16 Age Group, Football Queensland Maroon narrowly trumped NSW Country in a close affair, 3-2.
Players put to the test
Even though the players at the National Youth Championships are away from school, that doesn't mean they've avoided being tested. They're not Math or English tests but anthropometric tests (measure body size and strength) and luckily for the players, these tests are easy to pass.
Anthropometric tests have been an aspect of Football Australia's Talent ID events since 2016 and form an important part of a long-term plan, says Football Australia's Girls Youth Development Manager, Debbie Fisher.
"The players come in and get measured on their standing height, seated height, body weight, and standing broad jump," Fisher explained.
"Standing height and seated height give us an indication of where they are in terms of their growth and maturation. This is an important set of data as it tells us where footballers typically are compared to the general population or other sports."
"Standing broad jump tests lower limb strength at this moment in time. When we track that over a long period, it allows us to see how players are developing physically.
"It's also beneficial when we see players going through their peak height growth because they're more prone to injury at that moment. This is a long-term investment and research project. It's about getting more data and information on Australian footballers," Fisher concluded.
