Socceroos give kids thrill of a lifetime
Socceroos Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill treated about 130 children to the thrill of a lifetime, when they appeared at a rain-affected Junior Football Clinic at Aussie Stadium in Sydney.
The pair signed everything the kids put in front of them and had a picture taken with every single child, plus a few adults as well, just for good measure.
The clinic was initially meant to take place inside Aussie Stadium, but driving rain forced everyone inside into the Indoor Cricket Centre.
“This is phenomenal; it-s great,” said Neill, when asked about being here with the kids. “This is what it-s all about; it-s about the kids.”
The Qantas Socceroo defender likened his own experiences as a child attending clinics just like these and drawing inspiration to want to become a national team player.
“I have been in this situation; Tim-s been in this situation before; you used to look up and think wow, these guys play for Australia and coming to visit you at coaching clinics.
“For me, it made me want those dreams more; it made me achieve them and want to be like that guy playing for Australia, who wanted to go to the World Cup. I wanted to do the same.
Using those experiences, Neill felt it was his duty to now give today-s kids the same aspirations and was one of the reasons why he came back to Australia in the days after their exit from the World Cup.
“Now that I have done that, I want to role reverse and be the one that the kids look up to. I feel responsible for that, which is why we love coming back to our old schools, to coaching clinics and just giving back to the public.”