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AUSTRALIA |
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[ ROSTER ]
Australia's 24 member squad remains unaltered in preparation for 2000 Olympics Australia Head Coach Cris Tannzey is staying with the original 20 Australian Institute of Sport Scholarship (AIS) athletes plus four Olympic Athlete Program (OAP) members including Belinda Dawney who was added to the squad a month ago. This current AIS period and the next phase of preparation runs until June 13. The players have just completed an 8 day camp in Southport on the Gold Coast which replaced the previously arranged 3-test series with Nigeria. Nigeria withdrew at short notice.They are now on a break and resume training at the AIS on April 7. Head Coach Tanzey said "I'm very pleased with all the players, and the camp has gone well. I have no reason to make any changes at this stage." The Matildas next confirmed international competition is the Pacific Cup, an 8 nation tournamentin Australia May 31-June 11. AIS Scholars
OAP
Matildas Squad announces new player selections in kick off for the Olympic year The Matildas Squad is taking shape at the start of the Olympic year. The new selections for both the AIS scholarships and Olympic Athlete Program (OAP) Squad strongly reflect the group National Coach Chris Tanzey has been working with since he took over the reins in mid-September. Included are the three new players he introduced to the Squad for the October tour to China. Seventeen-year-old midfielder Heather Garriock is rewarded with an AIS Scholarship and will relocate from her Sydney home to join the Squad full-time in Canberra. Former US college midfielder Danielle Small retains her scholarship for which she returned to Australia last month. Goalkeeper Leanne Trimboli retains her place in the OAP Squad. Others have been promoted from OAP Squad status to a full AIS Scholarship, including three who have fought their way back after long absences -- Byrony Duus, Sunni Hughes, and Sacha Wainwright. This current Scholarship period is a brief one, lasting until the end of the 3-test series versus Niveria in late March. Then the last Matilda Squad selections will be made leading up to the actual selection of 16 to represent Australia in the Olympics. "There is still always the opportunity that someone from outside might break through, but at the moment these are the ones who deserve to be in the squad," stated Tanzey. With eight months remaining before the Olympic Games, Tanzey is pleased with the overall progress of the Matildas, but stresses that there is still much to be done. Much useful information was gleaned from last week's 4-nation Australia Cup where the Matildas finished third behind rival Olympic nations USA and Sweden. "We've come a long way in the last three months -- we're more organized and fitter," Tanzey said. "We believe in ourselves more than we did. But we know not to jump ahead of ourselves and take too many giant leaps. The more games we play, the easier it will be on us." He added, "We're not looking short term at just results, nor making quick band-aid solutions. It's about having a vision and longer term goals and getting those things right. We're still on the way to working toward those goals. Then when the important event comes, we'll be prepared."
Australia Names Coach for National Team Chris Tanzey has been named as the new National Coach for Women's Soccer, taking charge of the Matilda's exactly one year out from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Tanzey was the best of five candidates short-listed for the 2000 Olympic campaign. The 42 year old was the former assistant to Greg Brown, who resigned after Australia's disappointing 11th place finish in WWC '99. "I could not be happier and I look forward to the challenge," Tanzey said. "I have a fantastic set of players who have knuckled down and trained superbly since the World Cup," he added. "If we can work hard and pull together we will achieve our goals. We need to put the Olympics at the back of our minds and take every day as a challenge to get things right on and off the park. We should enjoy the next 12 months leading up to the Games - enjoy the journey, not just the destination." Tanzey was appointed caretaker National Coach last month and set the tone immediately by making several changes to the AIS program. English born Tanzey is the former Head Coach of men's and women's soccer programs at the ACT Academy of Sport. He draws much of his coaching philosophy from his days as a youth player with Liverpool. Tanzey played for a number of clubs in a professional career in Australia, including the Canberra Arrows, and represented Australia in futsal over three years.
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