Promoted Shellharbour keen to utilise junior talent pool moving forward

Promotion to the Illawarra Premier League was confirmed earlier in the week for Shellharbour in Football South Coast's 'declaration of leagues' announcement which also confirmed that Shoalhaven had been promoted to the District League and that Bellambi had been dropped from the top flight.

But Shellharbour were rewarded for their league championship in the District League in 2023 with promotion and will now go up against the best teams in the region in 2024.

Led by first grade coach Rod Williams, Shellharbour won the District League in their first year as a merger between the Shell Cove seniors and the Shellharbour juniors.

With junior numbers continuing to grow, head coach Williams said it was the perfect time to be part of Shellharbour FC.

"It's absolutely brilliant. We've got a very good relationship with the juniors and the pathway is there," he said.

"We've got a good under 20s and reserve side. So we've got a good, young, solid base to move forward with. We've also got some exciting 15 and 16 year olds in the Shellharbour juniors and you hope in the next couple of years a few of them come into first grade. That makes that pathway a real opportunity to show that this is what it's all about.

"It's very exciting. We've got something like 1,000 juniors in there and even on the Wednesday night summer soccer we've got 1,500 kids running around and a lot of them are Shellharbour based."

Shellharbour will be able to accommodate all the juniors and seniors training at Myimbarr Oval in 2024 following the completion of a fourth sporting field at the complex.

Williams said the club was thriving now thanks to the work of senior president George Dimitrievski and junior president Yani Sekuloski, as well as the entire committee at Shellharbour.

"Yani and George drive a lot of things. George is a super guy and he always knows the right moves to make. And Yani runs a great ship with the juniors there. They just get so much done and it makes my job easier," Williams said.

"There's a lot of unsung heroes here and it's just a great vibe around the club at the moment and it's a really good place to be."

Shellharbour also had great success in the inaugural Illawarra Women's Premier League last season with the side claiming a grand final victory against Woonona.

In the juniors, the under 18s continue to conquer the state with wins in both the State Cup and the Champions of Champions tournament.