TWO Bendigo youngsters have earned the opportunity of a lifetime to represent Australia at the 33rd United States Futsal National Championships in California.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hunter Wright and Mitchell Burton have been selected in the Australian 10-11 team to compete in Santa Clara during July.
The Aussies will be matched against a selection of the best futsal teams from 50 US states.
Wright and Burton are no strangers to being team-mates.
The 10-year-olds play together locally with Flash United and last year represented Victoria Country at the National Schools tournament in Brisbane.
They also represented Victoria Country at the national championships in Sydney.
It was their performances in Queensland and New South Wales, which helped the talented youngsters earn selection in the Australian team.
The pair has also played together for Bendigo at regional level and their school Girton Grammar.
Wright, a pacy left-footer whose favourite positions are target and left flank, said he was looking forward to wearing the Australian green and gold for the first time overseas.
“I am pretty excited to be representing my country, it’s a great opportunity,” he said.
“I’m happy Mitchell is also going; he’s a good kid and a good player.”
Burton, a quick and skilful flanker, was confident the Australian team could do well against their American rivals.
The Bendigo pair will spend a week in training camp in San Francisco, before venturing south for the July 19-22 national championships.
Futsal is not the only sport both boys play.
Wright plays under-12 soccer for Bendigo City FC and Australian rules football for Golden Square’s under-12 team.
Burton plays soccer for Epsom and basketball for Girton Grammar, but said he enjoyed the ‘faster pace’ of futsal the most.