Growing together

EliteEdge began in 2023 with one idea. Young players improve fastest when someone pays attention to them as individuals: their technique, their decisions, their confidence and their mindset. We started with small groups on the Sunshine Coast and kept the numbers small on purpose, so that every player got coached rather than just supervised.

Since then, more than 300 players have trained with us across the Academy, one-on-one sessions, school and club programs, and our High Performance Player Camps (HPPC). Many families have stayed with us term after term, brothers and sisters have followed, and the parent community has grown into a network that looks out for each other's kids.

Our groups are growing too. Term 3 ran over our 16-player cap on both Monday and Wednesday. For Term 4 we are back to two Academy groups on each of Monday and Wednesday, alongside the three Friday HPPC Academy groups. Thank you for trusting us with your players. None of this happens without an amazing group of players and families.

Term 4 venues: please note the change after week 3

We start Term 4 at Caloundra FC. From week 4 (Monday 26 October) we move back to Currimundi for the rest of the term. Sunshine Coast Council is taking over the Caloundra FC facility and the pitches are being renovated, so we will not be on them for the second half of the term.

Session times

HPPC Academy runs for 8 weeks of the term. Your group's WhatsApp will confirm addresses and any wet-weather calls each week.

The plan for 2027

From Term 4 2026, EliteEdge players will receive an Individual Development Plan (IDP). It is a written, player-specific plan built from what our coaches see in training and games. It grows out of the IDP system we built and ran with Sunshine Coast Grammar School, now developed further with what we have learned since.

The four corners of development

What players and parents receive

• A progress report showing where your player is now and how they have moved since their last one.
• A personal training plan with two or three priority areas, and practice videos to use at home. Many of them come from our Academy Skills Sequence library.
• Developed further: players are also rated against their position and the moments of the game (in possession, out of possession and the transitions), on a clear 1–5 scale, with regular reviews so progress is tracked term by term.

Community to League 1 & 2 academy teams

Seventeen EliteEdge players have moved up from community football into League 1 and League 2 academy teams. That is a big step in intensity, training load and expectations, and every one of them has earned it.

Congratulations to every one of these players, and to the families who drive the kilometres, wash the kits and ride the highs and lows with them. With trials starting at many of the academy clubs over the coming weeks, we expect an even bigger group to progress into League 1 and League 2 academy teams.

More wins worth celebrating

Xander's story: from the Red Zone to the Queensland Metro program

Xander's path is not a straight line. It is a series of opportunities, some of them well out of his comfort zone, and a habit of turning up and working at every one.

Dan coaches with these three zones in mind, and they are how we organise our Monday, Wednesday and Friday HPPC groups: every player should spend most of their time in Amber.

Have a story we should share? Tell us. We would love to celebrate your player in a future edition, with your permission.

Together with the Fleetwood Town International Football Academy (FTIFA), we are taking a group of players to Lancashire, England. Players stay at the Fleetwood Town FC Village and train on Fleetwood's own training ground at Poolfoot Farm with Fleetwood's academy coaches. The program includes eleven training days, five fixtures against English teams, professional matches most evenings, and objective testing on arrival and again in the final week, so each player's improvement is measured rather than guessed.

It is not a trial and it does not promise selection or a contract. What it does give players is an honest measure of the standard, and the motivation and direction that come from seeing it up close.

Pricing (AUD)

Included: return economy airfare Brisbane–Manchester with checked baggage, 16 nights' accommodation and breakfast, the full FTIFA training program, five fixtures, stadium tours and excursions, tickets to scheduled professional matches, HPPC tour kit, group travel insurance, and HPPC staff supervision throughout. Evening meals are not included (budget about $450–$750). Players under 14 on 25 March 2027 must travel with a parent or guardian.

Key dates

• Sat 3 Oct 2026Deposit due: $1,000 secures a place.
• Fri 9 Oct 2026No-risk window closes. The deposit is fully refundable up to this date. It is also the day we confirm the tour is running (minimum 14 players, or everyone is refunded in full).
• Fri 30 Oct 2026Second instalment.
• Fri 20 Nov 2026Third instalment.
• Thu 3 Dec 2026Price locked from this date. Before it, the price can rise only to pass on a genuine supplier or currency increase, capped at 5%.
• Fri 15 Jan 2027Final balance.
• Wed 20 Jan 2027Transfer window closes. After 9 October payments are non-refundable but can be transferred to another approved player until this date.
• Wed 24 Mar 2027Depart Brisbane, 9:55 pm, Qatar Airways via Doha.
• Sun 11 Apr 2027Home.

How to join

Places are offered to players who suit the experience, and numbers are capped to protect coaching ratios and supervision. The steps: register your interest, have a short suitability conversation with Tanya, Dan or Dave, receive a written offer with the booking terms, then return the signed booking form and pay the deposit.

Questions? Ring Tanya on 0421 711 363. The information pack is the authoritative, always-current version of every date, price and term above, and it includes the refund, transfer and travel-insurance detail every family should read before paying.

“Don’t let reality get in the way of an incredible dream!”

Every EliteEdge family knows the two things that cost us sessions: wet weather and winter daylight. The Coast is also short of indoor sport space. Clubs and families across many sports feel it, not just football.

So we have started working on an idea: a privately run, indoor, all-weather multi-sport centre, with a synthetic football pitch at its heart. EliteEdge and HPPC would be the anchor programs, and adult social leagues would help pay for it. A multi-sport court would serve basketball and other sports. It would be a place where young people can train properly all year round, whatever the weather.

A small group is already working to make this dream a reality. It is early days, and an idea like this only happens with the right people around the table.