YOUR local
ISSUE 018 FRIDAY, 6 APRIL, 2018
6 PAGE RACING GUIDE PAGE 11
YOUR INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY
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Jada Whyman, goal keeper with the Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club. Inset: Jada Whyman with the Rebel Role Model Award.
Jada role model of the year by Marguerite McKinnon
IN a time when high profile sports people are in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons it’s refreshing to hear about an elite sportsperson receiving recognition for behaviour on and off the field. That’s just what has happened to Wagga soccer sensation, Jada Whyman, who has been named the inaugural Rebel Role Model Award in Australian Women’s Football. At just 18 years, Jada has proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with in her role as goalkeeper for the Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club and was recognised for her excellence on and off the pitch at an award ceremony in Melbourne. Football Federation Australia (FFA) said the selected player’s influence on the game
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extends beyond her professional playing capacities, with a focus on community. Jada embodies what it takes to be a professional footballer; someone who is not only dedicated on the pitch, but supports and encourages growth of the game at all levels within the community. The FFA selection criteria for the Role Model Award is based on good sportsmanship and attitude, and a recipient must have played for a Westfield W-League Club during the 2017/18 season and be under 21 at the start of the season. Jada was a worthy recipient of the award. Having not only played in 11 of her teams 14 matches in the Westfield W-League 2017/18 season, Jada was a member also of the Westfield Young Matildas and represented Australia at the 2017 Asian Football Confederation Under
19 Women’s Championship in Nanjing, China where she celebrated her 18th birthday. She also completed an exam for her Higher School Certificate. “She will never forget it because it was so unusual being in another country for, not only her birthday, but for her HSC,” Jada’s mother, Vanessa Whyman, said. Off the field Jada has been a tireless ambassador for the Western Sydney Wanderers, conducting more than 30 community and media appearances this season alone. In addition to being the face of the club’s marketing campaign, Jada is a role model and mentor for indigenous footballers in her local area and around the country. Jada’s grandfather, Wiradjuri elder, Hewitt Whyman, is understandably busting with pride at her achievements.
“She’s done so well and she’s also the captain of the NSW Institute of Sport’s team which is amazing for her family, and Wagga as well,” Hewitt said. Jada’s mum agreed the win is especially good for Wagga and the region. “Jada was selected over many amazing girls from big cities so it’s really good that a country girl from Wagga is considered the best,” Vanessa said. “She just goes out and does what she loves. And it’s so nice that she is being recognised for that,” she said. Excelling is in Jada’s heritage. Her grandmother’s sisters were The Sapphires, the Australian Aboriginal singing girl group who entertained troops in the Vietnam War. Their story was told in the 2012 movie, The Sapphires, starring singing sensation, Jessica Mauboy.
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