Blumberg among NSW’s best
A FORMER Maccabi Junior Football Club player has been selected for the NSW Schoolboys team, which will compete at the Pacific School Games in Adelaide later this year.
Ryan Blumberg, a year 11 student at Moriah College, was chosen for the prestigious state squad after completing an arduous selection process that culminated with the NSW All School Championships in June.
Taking the field for the Combined Independent Schools (CIS), Blumberg impressed throughout the two-day tournament, as his CIS side piped Combined Catholic Colleges for top spot based on goal difference.
With Blumberg’s form enough to earn a spot among the best 16 school-age footballers in NSW, he will now travel to Adelaide in November to take on teams from each state and territory, as well as several Pacific nations, in the flagship event of School Sports Australia.
“This selection means a lot to me, as it is the strongest team I have played with, featuring Australian Under-20 players and a majority of Youth A-League players in the team,” Blumberg recently told NSW Maccabi newsletter editor Leanne Shelton.
“I’m very excited to train and play with the team before the Pacific School Games. The training will mainly consist of games where we will be playing all of the NSW Youth A League teams in trial matches.
“As the competition is in November, we have lots of time to train in preparation for the tournament.”
“[We will be up against] players of high quality, many coming from youth A-League teams from their respective states, plus national school teams from other Pacific countries.”
Having spent the past few season in National Premier League 1 with the APIA Leichardt Tigers FC Under-16s and Under-18s, Blumberg is accustomed to high-level football. Time spent with Hakoah Sydney City East FC and the Football Mundial Academy also features on his resume, showing that Blumberg has come a long way since his junior days starring for Maccabi.
“As a young kid I always played for Maccabi, spanning from Under-6 to Under-10,” said 16-year-old Blumberg. “Maccabi was a great club for me as I was playing with my friends, having lots of fun while improving under the guidance of some good coaches.”
Blumberg was also member of the Australian junior team which competed at the 2013 Maccabiah in Israel, and he tok part in a football tour of Italy with his current club in January this year.
“Making the NSW schoolboys team is one of my best achievements to date but, besides that, travelling with the APIA Under-20s squad to Italy to play in the Viareggio Cup was an amazing experience, and something that helped me grow as a footballer.”
The busy schedule of an elite athlete hasn’t dampened Blumberg’s enthusiasm for the sport he grew up with, passing on advice to aspiring footballers: “Constantly try to make yourself a better player and always remember to enjoy playing.”
ADAM BLAU
comments