MAIDEN Gully teenager Jye Caldwell capped outstanding play at the School Sport Australia AFL under-15 championships by being selected in the All-Australian team.
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Caldwell and his team-mates scored an 11-goal victory against Western Australia in the titles grand final.
The under-15 win completed a clean sweep for Victoria as the under-12 boys’ and under-16 girls’ teams starred in Geelong.
Caldwell and Golden Square clubmate Dyson Daniels represented Victoria at under-15 and under-12 level respectively.
The under-16 girls’ team included Choney Meemusor from Bendigo South East Secondary College and Ashlea Hampton from Catholic College Bendigo.
Caldwell is a student at CCB.
“To represent Australia will be a huge honour,” Caldwell said of next year’s tour of South Africa.
“It will be my first overseas trip,” said the 14-year-old.
At the under-15 titles he predominantly played as a rover or through the midfield.
”The intensity of the contests and pace of the game was a big step up,” Caldwell said.
“Being more accountable for an opponent was really important. A goal was to work hard to get back and support the defence.”
In the grand final, Victoria took control from the start against a line-up that had beaten them in the pool matches.
For Caldwell the focus is now back on playing for Golden Square in the Bendigo Football League’s under-18 competition.
Golden Square kicked in to assist Caldwell and Daniels in their SSA campaigns by donating proceeds from a match-day raffle run by Golden Square Football Netball Club.
The Golden Square Junior Football Club has established a $500 scholarship to support players who have earned an opportunity to compete at an elite level, just like Caldwell and Daniels have done.
Boxing and cricket are other sports Caldwell has excelled at.
He said workouts with the Danniel Burton-trained Hit Factory boxing squad had helped increase endurance and strength.
At the School Sport Australia AFL championships, Daniels and his team-mates won the under-12 grand final against South Australia.
A Victorian representative in football and basketball, Daniels is a student at Camp Hill Primary School.
Hampton, Meemusor and their team-mates defeated WA in the under-16 girls’ decider.