The Queensland State Team is just days away from heading down to Clyde North, Victoria ahead of the 2023 Girls National Training Centre (NTC) Challenge taking place Monday, 10 July to Friday, 14 July.  

Head Coach Dante Stehn spoke with Football Queensland (FQ) on the ins and outs of the journey the FQ Under 18 NTC Girls State Team has taken from the state identification process to preparing physically and mentally for the important national talent identification event ahead of them. 

“We’re confident in the squad we have, that we can do very well; we have had a few players ruled out, however the talent pool in Queensland is very strong and every player who has come into training has been ready to compete at a very high level,” Stehn said.  

“We were looking for smart players who can adapt quickly – players who are technically good on the ball, physically strong and willing to put the team first.” 

In preparation for the NTC Challenge, Stehn has utilised a team of professionals in order to ensure the squad has optimal care for both their mental and physical health.  

“We try to utilise all of the staff that Football Queensland and QAS provide us – the S&C coaches, physios and nutritionist have been working with us all season to prepare them physically,” Stehn said. 

“Mentally, we’ve had help from the QAS well-being officer to assist the players with time management and limiting stress to focus on performance. 

“As coaches we try to make sure they’re comfortable in the environment and understand what they need to do with meetings, video sessions and explanation through training.”  

After the successes of last year’s NTC Challenge, with the team yielding only a single goal across their six game win streak, the pressure is high for this year’s team, but Stehn believes they are up to the challenge. 

“Obviously, we have to appreciate how well the team did last year, however we’re fully focused on what’s ahead; all of the teams will have new squads so it’s a different challenge compared to last year,” Stehn said. 

“Our goal is to always do our best, so we’ll be hoping to go undefeated again, as well as hopefully getting even more Queenslanders noticed by the national team staff.”