Two Bunbury soccer players have been picked for one of the state’s top-tier sides.
Kloe Bassett, 17, and Courtney Butlion, 16, have been selected for the State School Girls Under 19s squad.
The team is getting ready to travel to Adelaide for School Sport Australia’s 10th Pacific School Games next month, facing off against internationals sides such as China and Pakistan.
The pair said they were elated to have completed the trial phase and be picked for the side.
Over the past five months, Bassett and Butlion travelled to Perth twice each week for the team’s training schedule.
Team currently completes matches and training sessions in Perth each Saturday.
Butlion, having suffered mumps during the trial phase, almost missed out on a place.
Basset and Butlion were originally spurred on to play soccer by family members.
Butlion played for Bunbury Dynamos before moving to South West Phoenix this year, while Bassett has remained with the Dynamos.
Last year, Butlion was selected for the WA State Under 19s side.
Bassett saw soccer as an enjoyable activity, saying: “I like being in a team and it is just fun and you get the freedom to run, it’s not constricted like court sports,” she said.
Bassett urged all young soccer players to have confidence and believe in their abilities.
“Don’t hold back, play how you play and don’t try and play how people tell you to play,” she said.
“Listen to what people tell you but just play naturally, don’t force it.”
Away from soccer, the pair participate in an array of sports including football, athletics, surf life saving, basketball and netball.
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