Geoff Helisma | Woombah’s Shanyn Hammond, 16, is good on her feet when it comes to controlling a round ball, so good that she represented Australia in the U17 and U19 Futsal teams at the US Futsal nationals in Santa Clara, California. Hammond’s climb up the representative ladder goes something like this: She represented Maclean High School at the Coffs Coast Futsal titles in Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie. Subsequently, she was “invited to play for the Far Northern NSW under 16s team at the Australian School National Futsal Competition in Brisbane in September 2017”, she says. Hammond was also called up to play in the U19 side. “I was recognised as one of five all-stars that were chosen from all of the U16 teams,” she says. “I was then selected to play for the Australian Futsal Association U17 team, to tour and play in the US Futsal nationals in Santa Clara, California. “The team consisted of girls from Sydney, northern NSW and Brisbane. “Prior to the US nationals, we trained and played a few trial games at Bay City Futsal (in Burlingame, South San Francisco) and Gamer Futsal (at Sportsplex, San Jose).” “In the US Nationals tournament our U17 team made the finals, where we came second and got a silver medal.” Hammond also played in the U19 team at the tournament. She says she loves Futsal because it “is a very quick game” that requires agility and to be “fast with your feet”. “You also need to think quickly, as the game is usually played at a fast pace,” she says. “I would love to improve my game to be the best I can, and maybe even represent Australia in the world championships. “I also love football [soccer] and I would love to play at a higher level.”