Wellington Olympic AFC

Wellington Olympic's u17 team had a massive debuting season last year, ending as the reigning 2022 Champions of the Mixed Capital/Regional League.

The U17s grade is fast and competitive, progressing players into the high energy levels of the senior football arena. However, we also have our more social division where players really just want to get together with their friends, play and have fun.

Skills, techniques and strategies are all at the fore, as well as continuing on the emphasis of enjoying the game we are all so passionate about.

Some u17s progress to our u19s team who play a series of tournaments, leading up to the National Tournament held annually in and by Napier.

We welcome all youth (15 and up) to join us for another incredible year, regardless of whether you are competitive, or the social player. Our licenced coaches are looking forward to you jumping on board for a great season.

If a parent would like to manage the team or can help with transport, please let us know. We are always grateful for all parent support with teams.

For any queries relating to the u17s, please contact Samuel Mitrakas

samuel@olympicafc.org.nz

Results:

R1 - 14/05: v Wests Black Win: 3-0 Goalscorers: Arthur Bradford, Toby Hassed; Florian Ashby

R2 - 07/05: v Wellington United Win: 16-0 Goalscorers: Alex Beggs x4; Alfie Downing x 3; George Doyle x 2; Kahu Edmond-Smaille x2; Lukas Hales; Alex Fraser; Florian Ashby; Charlie Benbow; Thomas van der Hoorn

R3 - 14/05: v Wests Gavs Gladiators Win: 6-1 Goalscorers: Sam Gordon x2; Alex Fraser; Florian Ashby; Kahu Edmond-Smaille; OG

PROMOTION TO CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

R5 - 31/05: v WPX Women's Win: 8-0 Goalscorers: Nic Ball x2; Zach Hassall x2; Alfie Downing; Sam Gordon; Leo Gun; Thomas van der Hoorn

R6 - 28/05: v Western Suburbs Loss: 1-2 Goalscorer: Nic Ball

R7 - 04/06: v Miramar TDP Win: 4-2 Goalscorers: Jag Willers x2; Leo Gun; Nic Bll

R8 - 11/06: v Stop Out Win: 4-1 Goalscorers: Alex Beggs x2; Arthur Bradford; Jag Willers

R9 - 18/06: v Horowhenua Coastal Win: 4-0 Goalscorers: Nic Ball x2; Nysi Soulis; Arthur Bradford;

R10 - 25/06: v WPX Boys Academy Win: 3-2 Goalscorers: Alex Begg; Leo Gunn; Florian Asbhy

R11 - 01/07: v UHFC Orange Loss: 1-6 Goalscorers: Leo Gunn

R12 -15/07: v Onslow/Nth Wellington Loss: 1-5 Goalscorers: Sam Gordon

R13 -19/07: v Petone Settlers Draw: 1-1 Goalscorers: Sam Gordon

R14 -23/07: v Petone Settlers Loss: 0-1

R15 -30/07: v WPX Women's Win: 1-0 Goalscorers: Jag Willers

R16 - 06/08: v Western Suburbs Draw: 2-2 Goalscorers: Alfie Downing; Nysi Soulis

R17 - 13/08: v Miramar TDP Loss: 2-6 Goalscorers: Sam Gordon; Arthur Bradford

R18 - 20/08: v Stop Out Loss: 0-2

This year we have formed an alliance u17s team with Island Bay United.

The team started off in Capital Regional A and, having coming away with 3/3 wins against two Wests' sides and Wellington United by massive scores, there have been discussions between ourselves, representatives from IBU and Capital Football, resulting in a promotion for the team to the Capital Development League (CDL), the top league in the region, with our first game being played tomorrow.

The promotion will be a step up for the lads, but it is the perfect step for their development into senior football and the goals both we and IBU have for this group with the aim of playing in the National Youth League at the end of the year. So far the attitude of the players has been really positive and their eagerness to grow is exciting to see.

We started off our CDL promotion with requiring a catch-up game against the WPX Women's team which was postponed, requiring us to pick up our first game against West's last Sunday. Having already played two Wests' sides in the Capital Regional league, we knew going into the game, this would be the toughest of them all.

The boys started off well and midway through we won a penalty. Nic Ball confidently slotted it to the roof of the net to give us a 1-nil lead. In disappointing fashion, we conceded with the last play of the half to go into halftime 1-1. We were the better side in the second half, but Wests took their chances and scored off a set piece to give them a 2-1 lead and all three points. The boys were excellent regardless of the result and proved why they deserved to compete in the top league. We'll get better as games go on, I have no doubt of that.

This coming Sunday we have the big derby against Miramar who are top and undefeated, so it's another challenge I'm sure the boys will love.

Tonight we met up with the WPX Women's team for our catch-up game. We came away with an exciting 8-0 win due to a convincing performance with chances well taken. This result should buoy our lads for Sunday's big game.

In the last couple of weeks the boys have really stepped up - two games and two wins which means we go three from four since moving into the CDL league, a pretty impressive and deserved start with all credit to the boys.

A derby against league leaders and undefeated Miramar was our first test. That didn't faze us as the boys started the game with more intent, and in 20 minutes had ourselves a 2-0 lead with a penalty to Leo Gunn and Nic Ball with a tidy finish. Miramar got one back not long after and we headed into halftime with a 2-1 lead.

Five minutes into the second half and Miramar equalised. It was one of those games that one team would run away with, and thanks to our super sub Jag Willers who scored a late brace with two quality finishes, gave us 4-2 win. Massive result.

Following into the next game vs Stop Out, we looked to build on the big result from the week before. Stop Out took the lead early on but thanks to Alex Beggs and a Kroos-like finish from Arthur Bradford, we turned things around to go 2-1 up at HT. A more controlled second half saw Jag score yet again, and Beggsy netted his second with a well taken free kick. 4-1 final score.

We now look forward to our travel up the coast to face Horowhenua as we look to continue our fine run of form. Promising signs from this hard working group who are learning and developing game by game.

Last weekend we travelled up the coast to face Horowhenua at Weka Park.

We took the lead early on thanks to Leo Gunn after good play from Nic Ball to put him through. As the end of the half neared, a deep freekick back post was tapped in by Nysi Soulis to give us a 2-0 lead at the break. In the second half we controlled the game a lot better, the pitch didn't make things easy but the boys were rewarded with two more goals thanks to Kahurangi Green and Nic Ball. 4-0 final score, a clean sheet and another 3 points sees us go 4 from 5 games in the CDL.

Overall another good team performance, and a special mention to George Doyle who has been consistently quality as centre back over the last few weeks. Tomorrow we face the Nix U17s at Fraser Park as we look to keep our run of form going.

Over the last couple of weekends, we've faced the Nix u17s and Upper Hutt.

Our game against the Nix was a game of two halves. Florian Ashby gave us an early 1-0 lead with a clever chip over the GK, the signs of a good start. However, it turned out to be the complete opposite and, in all honesty, was probably the most disappointing half of football we've played, letting the Nix into the game for them to come back to lead 2-1 at halftime. In the second half, a lot of positives changed from our end as talked about at the break, and we got what we deserved; Alex Beggs with the equaliser off a corner, and a quality finish from Leo Gunn with his left won us the game 3-2. A lot of lessons learned.

The following week we met Upper Hutt. Leo was put through early from Nic Ball, and again slotted the ball nicely with his left to take us 1-0 up. We couldn't put away our chances after good spells and Upper Hutt scored late in the half to go in 1-1 at halftime. The second half was one to forget, the final score reflecting that. Upper Hutt's pace and physicality was too much to handle, and they capitalised off our mistakes. The game finished 6-1 in favour of the Hutt. Our first defeat since week one, ending our five week winning streak.

The boys had last weekend off due to school holidays, but we're back to it this Sunday vs North Wellington at home.

The last couple of weeks have been tough for the boys in terms of results. In the last week especially, the performances have been good, but not taking our chances have hindered the outcome of those games and we have been really hard done by some poor referee decisions.

The North Wellington/Onslow a couple weeks ago was a tough game. We went into HT at 1-1, with Sam Gordon scoring for us. NW (top of the table) showed why they are top and scored 4 in the second half to win 5-1.

In the past week, we played Petone twice. In the first game, Sam Gordon gave us a 1-0 lead. After having chance after chance to go 2 up and hitting the woodwork twice through Alex Beggs, Petone were then awarded a controversial penalty to draw 1-1. In the following game, it was a similar outcome. Lots of chances missed cost us, as Petone scored on the counter. In the last play of the game on our attacking corner, all players, including our GK Josh Ingham, were in the box looking to get an equaliser. A header from Heath Coulter was cleared off the line by their defender with his hand - clear as day. Somehow it wasn't awarded and the whistle blew right after that moment. It summed up a frustrating weekend at Petone Memorial, but we look to get back on track this weekend in our preparation for the National Youth League in September.

The boys have found some better form in the last few weeks and the wider squad have stepped up and delivered.

A 1-0 win against the Nix Women's Reserves gave us our first win since we bet the Nix boys a month ago.

Last weekend we faced Wests who beat us in our first game of the CDL 2-1 We started the game well and were rewarded with a goal from Alfie Downing after nice work from Alex Fraser and Charlie Benbow. Wests got back into the game in the second half and went up 2-1. After being so unlucky with penalty calls against us in previous games, we were finally given one in the last minute and Nysi Soulis put it away to give us a well earned point. A solid team performance and tests of the whole squad against a solid Wests side.

This weekend we face Miramar at home - looking to make it a double over them which I'm sure will be just as good as the last game.

This season our U17s merged with Island Bay United to create an alliance team with the aim of pushing into the CDL league and then into the Boys’ Youth National League, providing the best possible opportunities for the boys involved. Between both clubs, we have 30 plus eligible players.

We started off in the Regional League, and after 3 games and 3 comfortable wins, both clubs and players agreed it was right to be put into the CDL. The switch happened, and our first CDL game was a 2-1 loss to West's. A big step up in terms of quality and pace of the league, the boys adapted very quickly and the next 5 games saw us win all five, beating the Nix Women's Reserves, Miramar (who hadn't lost), Stop Out, Horowhenua and the Nix U17s. That spell of games didn't last long, as a mid-season patch crept in resulting in two big back to back losses to Upper Hutt and North Wellington (6-1 and 5-1), followed with a 1-1 draw then a 1-0 loss to Petone in the same week.

A narrow 1-0 against the Nix Women’s Reserves gave us our first 3 points in a month, then with the last 4 games presenting us with only 2 points, draws vs Horowhenua and Wests and defeats to Miramar and Stop Out. Overall a pretty decent intro into the CDL league against some of the best in the region.

A week break and full focus turned to the Boys’ Youth National League. Our first game was underway last Sunday up in Palmerston North as we faced Palmerston Marist at the Manawatu Arena. A first half goal to Florian Ashby was cancelled out painfully in the last 5 minutes, but we take a point on the road and move.

It’s been a privilege to work with these boys over the last few months and we've come a long way in a short, disjointed space of time. Their attitude is second to none and I'm looking forward to the next 4-5 weeks and how we face up against other Youth League teams in the aim of qualifying for the Nationals at the end of October. We also have the Western Springs tournament in early December to look forward to, another chance for the boys to gain exposure.

Thanks to Matt Calcott for assisting me in coaching the boys and all his admin work in dealing with everything thrown at him. I've been lucky to learn from the big man. And also a mention to Leo Villa for taking one of the sessions during the week. A big thanks goes to our two managers - Zen and Terry with all their work behind the scenes and laughs that come with it. To the boys, our season isn't done yet but I've loved the journey so far and seeing you develop. Keep listening and keep working hard as a lot of you can go far in the game.