Determination, dedication, and passion for the game, those are the traits Sydney Olympic’s NPL NSW Women’s shotstopper Jada Mathyssen-Whyman has lived by preparing for more football in 2020 following her recovery from injury that sidelined the star from W-League action with the Western Sydney Wanderers.

The talented 20-year-old keeper had been looking forward to the recent W-League season but playing for two and a half years with a tear in her patella tendon meant she required surgery – fast forward months of rehabilitation and Whyman is bursting at the seams ready to make her long awaited entrance onto the football pitch once more.

“I’ve missed everything about the game. The family culture you have when being part of a team, having your family and friends come out and watch your team, the excitement of game day, trying to nutmeg people – all this and so much more but I honestly cannot wait to make my comeback with Sydney Olympic.

“When restrictions eased, being able to go out and see people again brought back a feeling I probably took for granted pre-COVID-19.

“The first session back for us at Olympic was awesome, I think the girls were over the moon to see one another again. It was good to see everyone with a big smile on their faces and there was so much laughter. The banter was top level, we were all glad to be back but are all working hard hoping to get some competitive football under our belts very soon.”

The recent COVID-19 lockdown gave Whyman more opportunity to recover and push through rehab ensuring she was coach George Beltsos’ number one pick prior to the NPL NSW Women’s season commencing.

The break also allowed the promising Matilda to take up a couple of new hobbies keeping her busy and occupied.

“For me, COVID-19 had actually given me the time to focus on my rehab.

“When you’re injured, you have this feeling of missing out, but with sport being put on hold, it took away that pressure of needing to get back quickly.

“Given that I was at home more often, I took advantage of it and really knuckled down with my studies as well.

“Also not having that social aspect of being around your teammates, there were plenty of opportunities for video calls to keep in touch with some of the girls.

“On the other hand, since I couldn’t kick a ball around due to limits with rehab, I took on some new hobbies like shooting hoops down at my local basketball court, cooking which I loved as well as learning how to play the guitar which was a massive fail.

“Work wise, I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home. It was a bit of a learning curve as we had to change up the way we approached connecting with our clients at headspace and changing a lot of things to online, but it was a good experience nonetheless.”

Known as a bit of a social media queen with over 4000 followers, the former Football NSW Institute graduate and Wagga Wagga born star recently took part in a special football project led by the FFA’s Digital Content Manager Ann Odong that saw the keeper pose for photos albeit inspired by Basketball Icon’s greatest ever, Michael Jordan and the successful Netflix series ‘The Last Dance’.

“That’s right, Ann Odong had messaged me saying she was doing a piece on athletes in isolation through her Instagram page “Futbol X Stories” and was wondering if I’d like to do a shoot with her.

“I told her I wasn’t doing too much other than rehab and having the occasional trip to the basketball court to shoot some hoops.

“Ann was pretty keen for it and it turned out to be a pretty fun shoot to be honest.

“To tell you the truth, I did go buy a basketball after watching the first episode of the last dance on Netflix.

“You kind of forget to enjoy other sports sometimes when you get caught up in training and playing all the time, so after watching the last dance I was like yeah I can shoot hoops (laughs).

“I ended up being pretty crap at it but it’s still pretty good fun.

“I really enjoyed the series, I got a lot out of it in terms of the mental side of things and challenges you can come up against in sport and life and I highly recommend giving it a watch if you haven’t yet.”

Sydney Olympic’s Young Matildas star Taylor Ray couldn’t hide her excitement when news filtered through that training sessions were back on the cards after COVID-19 halted all football operations in March.

“When the news came through that training sessions only were back on the cards it was definitely a massive step in the right direction and brought a smile to my face.

“It certainly allows us as players to plan and schedule for a hopeful commencement of the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s season with Sydney Olympic.”

The 19-year-old has had her fair share of setbacks. COVID-19 was just the icing on the cake as the rising star suffered a second ACL injury in the space of two seasons but her never say die attitude and determination got her back up and playing with Ante Juric’s Sydney FC side later in the recent W-League season which saw her play finals football.

Asked what she did during the COVID-19 lockdown period the Olympic star replied.

“Since going into lockdown, a big focus of mine was completing my Masters in Personal Training course.

“It’s been a great opportunity to complete most of my assessments and in general broadening my knowledge and understanding of the topic.

“Moreso, regularly completing field sessions, gym work, recovery throughout the week, maintaining technical skills and fitness was also on the cards.

“In one way, it was a great opportunity for us athletes to work on the weaker aspects of our game, whether that’s on or off the field, it gave us that time to reflect and better ourselves which I enjoyed.”

The young gun had the assistance of fellow Sydney FC teammate Amy Sayer where the two trained collectively when restrictions eased in ensuring they were pushing themselves to the limit keeping themselves fit and ready to go. Adding this on top of her being part of the Future Matildas program and Taylor was on top of her fitness and staying sharp campaign in more ways than one.

“It’s been great as during the safer periods when the Government started to relax the restrictions I was training with Amy (Sayer).

“We really enjoyed each other’s company while working hard and smashing out some great sessions in the gym and on the pitch.

“I’m currently in the Future Matildas program as well so my daily sessions are provided to us weekly which consisted of a variety of sessions that included, conditioning (running, bike), gym, field sessions, and yoga/recovery sessions. The majority of days are double sessions in order to mimic a normal week of training we would conduct as a team, so these helped me out heaps.

“I’ll be resuming my training now with Sydney Olympic in the coming week which is very exciting as I will get to see all the girls and coaching staff once more.”

Football continues to play an important role in Taylor’s life and it was no secret that when the game came to a temporary halt, the future Matildas ace missed it like never before.

“You can say that again, I know I speak for so many footballers who were in the same boat, but I missed the game so much.

“There’re so many things about football that makes it such an amazing sport, hence why so many people love it and why so many people missed it when everything came to a stop.

“For me personally, the feeling of playing alongside such quality players that are some of your best mates is something I love doing and missed during the layoff.

“When you think about it, you represent more than just yourself but your club, your culture and your passion – it’s these perfect drivers that we use on the pitch as we come together as one making it such a powerful and emotional feeling and one I cannot wait to experience soon.”

Currently in her fourteenth seasons playing the game she loves, followers of the NPL NSW Women’s competition cannot wait to see Taylor Ray don the famous Blue and White jersey of Sydney Olympic when the girls hopefully get a green light to recommence their season once more.

Here’s hoping!

The 2020 National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s season was supposed to be a huge one for Sydney Olympic’s rising young star Angelique Hristodoulou but no one would have imagined that a world-wide virus would put a stop to many things, including our beautiful game.

Not just a good footballer, but an astute University student who has since had to make some adjustments since COVID-19 shed its ugly presence on the world.

“The spread of COVID – 19 has affected me personally as the University I attend has been shut down and my studies have now moved online.

“I have to study at home and be present in lectures and tutorials via my computer.

“The NPL as you know has also been temporarily postponed which means I am unable to train and play the sport I love which has been very hard to deal with.”

Hristodoulou is lucky that both football and University has kept the Olympic youngster sane during self-isolation.

“My Uni work has been keeping me occupied.

“I am very lucky to have my dad (Eric, a former NSL great) who has been taking me up to the local park to train.

“Of course, we have been following safety measures and he has been coaching from a far.

“I have also been going on runs and have created a home gym so I can work-out. “Unfortunately, nothing compares to match fitness, but we have to try our best to keep as fit as possible.”

Football is a powerful sport that connects everyone and anything in its path, something Hristodoulou sorely misses.

“There are a lot of things I miss about football.

“I miss not being able to train with my teammates and miss seeing everyone regularly.

“Most of all I miss the competitiveness of the games on the weekend.”

Asked what her message was to the NPL NSW Football public about the safety measures currently being deployed across the nation the youngster stated.

“We have to listen to the expert advice that has been given to us in order to overcome the virus and hopefully resume playing the game we all love and miss, stay safe everyone.”

Sydney Olympic entered last season as the newly promoted side but from the opening day showed they’d mix it with the best.

They were right in the mix and in the hunt for the Premiership  moving into the final rounds of 2019 and then fell one step short of a grand final appearance in their debut season in the top tier.

A side full of stars was commanded by George Beltsos from the dugout who is expecting much of the same of his chargers in the new campaign.

“My expectation of the team is to play an attractive brand of football and do our best to win every game we take part in.”

That task has been made somewhat more difficult for Beltsos with some key players moving away from Peter Moore Field.

“We lost Kate Halaska and Dani Calvi who were integral parts of our squad for so many years and they will be missed.

Georgia Plessas and Panagiota Petratos have also made their moves away from Olympic and Beltsos acknowledges the void they have left.

“Both girls had great seasons for our club last year and scored around 20 goals between them.

“We have looked to replace those players and have signed players who want to be part of our famous club and have come here for the right reasons.”

The likes of star players Susan Phonsongkham and captain Teresa Polias headlining the squad will certainly push the Blues towards a finals series spot.

Cortnee Vine will be one to look out for as will other new recruits Taylor Ray, Julia Vignes not to mention star keeper Jada Whyman.

Australian youth international Shadeene Evans will also be a player that will spark up the Blues style in 2020.

There will also be some Japanese influence in the squad with Haruka Usada penning a deal at Belmore.

Olympic start their campaign away to the newly promoted APIA Leichhardt Tigers.

Major Signings: Haruka Usada, Cortnee Vine, Taylor Ray, Julia Vignes, Shadeene Evans, Charlotte McLean

Major Departures: Kate Halaska, Dani Calvi, Georgia Plessas and Panagiota Petratos.

Up and Coming Star: Angelique Hristodoulou

Player to Watch: Susan Phonsongkham