Young Mandurah soccer prodigy Scott Morrison continued his ascent up the junior ranks when he led Perth Glory to a resounding victory at the 2018 National Youth Championships in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales last week.
The 13-year-old and his under 13s Glory side claimed the two-star academy championship finishing ahead of the Newcastle Jets and Brisbane Roar.
Ending their campaign atop the A-League teams’ standings, Perth went on to play out a 1-1 draw against NSW Blue in a final.
Scott top-scored for the side with three goals from his eight games across five days, all of which came in a scintillating performance that saw the Striker blitz the Northern Territory on his way to a hat-trick.
The Mandurah product said he was thrilled to carve out a win with Perth.
“It was just such a good feeling for the team to play so well on a really big stage,” he said.
“Everyone we played against was really good and there were some huge players there so to be able to win the whole thing for A-League teams was awesome.
“We were all just singing and shouting – it was great.”
Scott started playing competitively at the age of four through Frederick Irwin Anglican School, joining Mandurah City’s under 8s squad the following season, where he would play for five years under the coaching of his father Neil.
During his last two years with Mandurah he was offered a place among Football West’s elite Skills Acquisition Program while training with Pro Football in Perth.
By under 12s the rising star was already in a Glory uniform playing striker and winger for the club’s junior academy, where his squad played up an age group in the National Premier League after being deemed too good for their own division.
In addition to his Perth-based training Scott also took up one-on-one sessions with former Brazilian professional Jose Dos Santos in Mandurah, which focused specifically on the strength and conditioning needed in his attacking role.
The training helped land him a spot on the side that traveled to Coffs Harbour for the National Youth Championships, a tournament designed to scope out the best players for the national 16s and 17s tournaments in the coming years.
Dos Santos said Scott had the makings of a future star.
“The way he’s grown as a player has been amazing,” he said.
“His skills and his touch are superb and he’s extremely strong if he gets a defender one-on-one.
“Really he’s just a great kid. He’s always willing to learn and he loves the game so much.”
The young gun will now enter a break before resuming to chase his dream of one day playing for the Glory’s first team.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
