SAM Modderno will experience a couple of firsts when he jets off to Malaysia with the Australian under 12 futsal team in November.
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This will be his first trip overseas. It'll also be the 12-year-old's first time in a plane.
The Australian team will be away 14 days and will play matches against the Malaysian and visiting national teams along with Malaysian club sides.
Sam is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 open order at Iguana.
Sam was selected after representing Football Mid North Coast at trial games earlier this year. He scored four goals in six games as FMNC finished in third place from six teams.
Not surprisingly Sam can't wait for the trip to roll around.
He plays futsal nearly 12 months a year in the local competition.
However, outdoor soccer is his passion. He started playing with Taree Wildcats under sixes. He's now a member of the Football Mid North Coast South Youth under 12s and plays in the Newcastle competition. This requires a trip to Newcastle every fortnight for matches. FMNC has enjoyed a reasonably successful campaign but will miss the semi-finals by a handful of points.
Sam usually plays centre midfield. He's also been included in a 24 train-on squad for the Northern NSW Country team to play in the Australian under 13 championships in Melbourne next year.
The squad will be whittled down to 16 following further trials in October.
The round ball game pretty well dominates Sam's sporting year with either soccer or futsal.
However, he also manages to play a bit of basketball with St Joseph's Taree in the schools competition run by Taree Basketball Association.
