Charlie Norton is less than a month away from embarking on a trip of a lifetime as she heads to Barcelona to represent Australia in futsal, but it hasn’t stopped her from accomplishing another football achievement.
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The 12-year-old was picked into the Newcastle Jets Under-13s side for next season, after excelling at a two-day trial held in July.
The selection into the prestigious side has given Charlie a huge boost of confidence ahead of her tour of Spain.
“Charlie was ecstatic after she was told she had been selected for the team,” Charlie’s mother Donna told the Argus.
“She has been training really hard in the lead up to Barcelona and this is definitely a deserved reward.
“We believe in her ability and football talent and these selections prove to her that she should believe in herself too.”
Charlie was invited to train alongside the Newcastle Jets side this season after she was noticed competing in the local Newcastle competition after she made the move south at the beginning of this year to attend Hunter Sports High School.
The football prodigy will play for the Jets in the 2019 season, which means she will travel to Sydney for the majority of her matches.
The midfield and fullback player is excited at the prospect of playing alongside and against the best junior girls in her age group.
Training for the Newcastle Jets Under-13s side commences at the end of the October school holidays.
While Charlie is already keen for next season, her focus is on the futsal tour of Barcelona.
Charlie leaves for Spain on October 31 and will travel across the country facing off with talented players for two-weeks.
“The local teams in Spain are all very good, they grow up playing futsal and don’t play on full size fields until they’re 12,” Charlie said earlier this year.
“They are really suited to futsal and they will be hard to beat, but it will be great to compare the level of play between us and them and gain that experience.
“It will be a struggle but nothing comes easy.”
The former Football Mid North Coast representative began playing futsal last year to maintain her fitness throughout the off-season.
Charlie was picked into the Northern NSW Under-12s representative side and helped lead the team to a national title earlier this year.
Charlie’s family expressed their gratitude to the Kempsey community and to everyone who has helped made the trip to Barcelona possible for the talented young athlete.
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