BELAIR Public School teacher and girls' soccer coach Emily Allars lost count of the times her players asked if they could do more training.
Lunch time. Recess. Any break from class. Any opportunity. The hard work paid dividends on Monday when Belair overpowered Oatley West 2-0 to win the NSW PSSA knockout final in Sydney.
"They are an amazing group of girls," Allars said. "They fight so hard and never give up. They chase that ball and encourage each other.
"They trained during their breaks at school and were asking me all the time if they could train more. They put the effort in and it has paid dividends.
"They work so well together. Many of the girls had to play out of their normal position. They slotted in anywhere."
It was the first time since the knockout's inception in 1988 that Belair have been crowned champions, and the second time a Newcastle school has won behind South Wallsend in 2016.
The final was Belair's 10th game in a competition that started with about 1000 teams.
They travelled to Coffs Harbour, Old Bar and Sydney twice for games.
"We have had so many parents at every game. They have been an amazing cheer squad," Allars said.
Belair accounted for Boambee 3-0 in the semi-final on Monday morning. Captain Annika Driscoll scored a double and Marli Mason-Powell also hit the target.
In the final, Driscoll, who is in the Emerging Jets under-13s, put Belair ahead in the 10th minute with a cracking strike from outside the box.
Maya Easterman sealed the win midway through the second half with an angled shot.
"It was super hot for the first game and they battled a bit to get through it," Allars said. "In the afternoon, they came out firing. It was the biggest effort I have seen from every player.
"At half-time the message was to focus on playing our own game. The other team was rattled. Our girls held it together and played our Belair game."
Goalkeeper Lacy Ayton is the only member of the squad who doesn't play competition soccer.
"Lacy played one year of soccer when she was younger and had never played in goals," Allars said. "She was amazing. We took her out of goals in a game to give her a run and she scored four goals."
