THE Newcastle Jets' youth team have already secured a piece of silverware and on Saturday they will chase the "cherry on top" against Nepean in the NSW NPL3 grand final at Valentine Sports Park.
And if all goes to plan, the same group will take the Jets through to the top tier in NSW NPL in the next two years.
Led by promising defender Ben van Dorssen, the Jets youth team, which has an average age of 17, won the premiership by five points with a game in hand.
The under-20s, which has an average age of 16, have been equally dominant. They won the premiership by two points, having played two less games due to wet weather, and will meet the University of NSW in their grand final at the same venue.
"Over the course of the season, the average age dropped to about 17 years and six months," Jets youth team coach Ric Marchioli said. "We wanted to provide the boys with more of a challenge relative to the level we were playing at. They are taking on guys far older. Every week presents a new challenge, a new opportunity for them.
"The key is consistency in the way we go about doing things. We wanted to establish is a link between how we do things in the youth team compared to the A-League team. We wanted to make sure that connection was very clear. It is about being aggressive and brave.
"They now have the confidence and the bravery to go out - it doesn't matter who the opponent is - and do our thing."
NSW NPL competitions have been in a holding pattern due to COVID and will undergo a restructure next year. The four tiers will become three. The Jets youth, which are currently in the fourth tier, will be in the third tier next year with scope for promotion.
"The ideal scenario is that this team moves up through the leagues together," Marchioli said. "Hopefully when we get to NPL 1 the boys are an average age of 19 to 20. Over the course of that process, the best two or three get shaved off and hopefully join in with the A-League squad."
Van Dorssen, who is 17, has been training regularly with the A-League squad this pre-season. Mason Fernandez, who is returning from injury, is the oldest in the team at 19. Midfielder Adam Zevas is 18. Alex Nunes, at 15, is the youngest.
"We needed an exemption for Alex to play as he is under the age threshold," Marchioli said. "He was in a Joeys squad (Australia under-17s) earlier this year and we had no doubts about his technical quality. He has been introduced gradually and is coming along nicely. He is an attacking midfielder and is very creative."
The Jets beat Nepean 5-3 on penalties in the major semi-final after neither team scored in regulation and extra-time.
"They are certainly an organised outfit," Marchioli said. "This will be the fourth time we have played them. It's a an opportunity and challenge for us to come up with new ideas. Be brave and be on the front foot.
"For me, first past the post is the most important one in football. The grand final is a cherry on top."
The Jets under-20s beat their grand final opponent 6-1 in the major semi-final.
A-League boss Danny Townsend confirmed this week that national youth league will not return this season.
"That is not entirely unsurprising," Marchioli said. "With COVID, it is going to take a while for everything to get back to where it need to be.
"There are some questions around how a potential national second division may be structured.
"The challenge is for us to find as many high quality games of football as we can to continue progressing. We still don't play enough football compared to our European or Asian counterparts. They are playing a hell of a lot more games than our young players are and against good opposition. That is going to be our challenge.
"The national youth league was 12 games. That is not enough games at a higher level. Ideally we are in a higher comp and that is what we are working towards.
"Where we can manufacture those high quality matches we will, whether it is friendlies or round robins."
Meanwhile, the Jets A-League squad will play Wellington Phoenix in a friendly in Sydney on Sunday. The Jets beat the Phoenix 3-0 two weeks ago.
