Two Flinders students, Mitch Bright in Year 12 and Natalia Webbe in Year 10, are proudly flying the green and gold, representing Australia and achieving exciting milestones in football at a young age.
As part of the Flinders Elite Athlete Program (FEAP), they receive tailored mentoring to help develop key skills and healthy habits to balance their sport and studies, including organisation, goal-setting, self-discipline, a positive mindset and effective nutrition.
Mitch Bright, Year 12
Mitch recently made his national debut in Fiji as goalkeeper when he represented Australia with the U17 CommBank Joeys on their Pacific Aus Sports Football Tour in January 2026. He delivered a standout performance, including an impressive save against the host nation. The Joeys also travelled to face the Solomon Islands U19 side, recording straight wins to cap off a successful tour. The matches provided key preparation for the upcoming AFC U17 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, where Mitch will look to book his place in the team.
Mitch says his primary focus is to improve as a footballer and earn opportunities at higher levels. “Academically, I’m focused on maintaining consistency in my results after a strong start in my first Internal Assessments. Balancing football with school is important, and the FEAP program has helped me stay more organised, especially with training commitments in Logan at least four times a week. Combined with the academic demands of Year 12, FEAP has made it easier to stay on top of my workload while remaining committed to my football.”
Natalia Webbe, Year 10
Natalia finished strong in 2025, earning a place in the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) Women’s team for 2026 as the youngest member of the squad to compete in the Women’s National Premier League. Her selection builds on her success honoured with a 2025 Players Player Award within the QAS squad. 2025 also saw Natalia invited to a Junior Matildas Camp, where she made her first international appearance for Australia in a hard-fought draw against Thailand’s U16 team.
Natalia said, “My short and long-term goals are to consistently play in the QAS Women’s NPL Team, to be selected to train with Brisbane Roar and to get a contract to play professionally. Academically, I am striving to maintain my grades in all classes and develop study techniques, especially as the workload gets heavier each year. My aim is to achieve an Academic Award while managing my sporting commitments.
“Balancing school with training in Brisbane four times a week means I need to be organised and improve my time-management skills. This year, I'm striving to perform really well at the upcoming Emerging Matildas Championships in April.
“A quote that I live by would have to be, ‘The more you put in, the more you get out.’ I keep this in the back of my mind all the time as I feel it guides my mindset and reminds me that effort is a huge part of success.”
