Spare a thought for Australia’s U20s Outback team.
Participating at this summer’s IFAF U20 World Junior Championships in Canada is quite the commitment, requiring the Aussies to spend in the region of 24 hours traveling more than 8,000 miles at a cost of around $9000 (AUD) per person to perform on the international stage.
Even before making that trip, selecting a roster that can compete in an opening game clash with Japan entails holding five tryout camps – some of them 2,500 miles apart – during March and April, before the full squad can get together to practice as one unit. Even then, their first full practice session will be on a different continent.
“The challenges of putting a team together specifically for our country is significant,” says recently appointed head coach John Leijten. “The coasts are three hours apart and Perth is often considered the most isolated big city in the world. That part is rough, so you have to find a way around that.
“We’re not going to have one big camp here because that’s tough financially for everyone. Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will be the main three camps and then for the states with the smaller player bases we’ll have a quick turnaround to go to Adelaide and Perth to see what the talent is like there.”
Leijten is no stranger to such obstacles having coached Australia’s men’s national team in IFAF World Championships in 2011 in Austria and 2015 in the United States. Once assembled, his squad will hold a pre-tournament camp once they arrive earlier than most nations in Canada, ahead of the June 22-30 tournament.
But more immediately, the eastern state of New South Wales will kick off the Outback talent search on March 9 and 10 in Sydney, then it’s off to Queensland (March 16-17 in Brisbane) and Victoria (March 23-24 in Melbourne). Western Australia (April 6 in Perth) and South Australia (April 7 in Adelaide) to determine who will play for Leijten’s team. All trialists will be drawn from players who have participated in an Australian tackle football season in either the 2022 or 2023 domestic seasons.
Working alongside Leijten in the talent search will be will be offensive coordinator Connor Brewster, defensive coordinator Mitch Woellner and special teams coordinator Will Saxby.
Australia takes on Japan on June 22 at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton, kick off 4pm, aiming to earn a semi-final meeting against either the United States or Panama. The last time the two nations met, Japan won the battle for fifth place 51-14, at the 2018 IFAF World Junior Championships in Mexico.
