Bul Juach becomes first graduate for Wolves-Belconnen United partnership

Belwest Foxes junior Bul Juach is the first player to progress through the Development Partnership Agreement announced recently between The Wollongong Wolves Football club and Belconnen United Football Club.

Richard Peil, Wollongong Wolves ACT and Far South Coast Talent Identification and Development Manager, identified Bul’s potential and in conjunction with Belconnen United Technical Director, Ulisses Da Silva, Bul was fast tracked through the initial program.

“Bul has the football world at his feet. Potentially he can do anything in our sport. He is however still only 16 years old and needs quite a deal more development. He has all the raw talent required and now it’s about fine tuning and finesse,” commented Peil.

Bul will remain based in Canberra, finishing his schooling and continuing to represent Belconnen United in the Canberra competition. Once a week he will travel to Wollongong where he will train with the Wolves senior squad. Here he will be introduced to an additional level of technical training under first grade coach Jacob Timpano and Wolves Technical Director Neil Mann and be involved in the senior squad drills and game sessions, picking up valuable experience alongside former Japanese international Yuzo Tashiro, seasoned professional Nick Montgomery, Wolves club captain Chris Price, rising attacking force Patrick Antelmi among a host of others.

Ulisses Da Silva, Belconnen United Football Club’s Technical Director, added, “This is exactly the reason why we developed this partnership with the Wolves. Bul has come through the Belconnen United development pathway and to assist in his growth in football we can offer him an additional level of exposure that wasn’t available previously. We keep him here in Canberra, pushing him and providing him with senior football opportunities, and will be the catalyst in opening doors for him that will be crucial for his future to take his game to another level.”

Born in South Sudan, Bul came to Australia in 2013 from the Kakuma refugee camp in Northern Kenya.

At the camp he played street soccer with the other children, sometimes with a ball made of torn rags and discarded clothes.

Life was very dangerous for Bul and his family in the camp but street soccer was the one escape available and Bul played at every opportunity. He was one of the lucky ones who managed to secure a way out of the camp and, finding himself in Australia, he was quickly drawn to football again.

Bul observed, “I first got into football here in Australia at school where I used to play with some of my friends at lunch time. I really only played it so I could make friends and practice my English since my English was pretty bad back then. A lot of my teachers and schoolmates told me I should join one of the local clubs because they thought I was really good and so one of my teachers signed me up with Belwest which is my local junior club here in Canberra. From Belwest I made it through [the ACT representative squad training] to Belconnen United, where I’m now playing first grade and I’m hoping I can make something out of football in the future.”

Wolves first grade coach, Jacob Timpano, believes exposing Bul to the Wolves will provide significant improvements to his game quickly and give him a completely new perspective of exactly what is required to progress.

“Bul will notice a significant difference in the intensity and commitment required as he trains with us. This will be a higher standard to what he is used to and an ideal way for him to see exactly what is necessary to make it. He is a great young kid with loads of ability. His time with us is going to be invaluable. He will return to Belconnen a much better and far more complete player and person.”

Bul has already commenced training with the Wolves and will stay in the program for the remainder of the 2017 season.

Focusing mainly on training with the senior squad, Bul will also participate in the Wolves Community Engagement Programs and be involved in the Wolves SAP programs and Junior Representative squads.

Timpano concluded, “it’s important Bul gets across the whole set up here at the Wolves. He’s already very community minded with his work with the Sudanese community in Canberra and through his local church, so getting him involved in our community and education initiatives will be good for him and good for us. With what he’ll learn on the pitch with us, I’ve got no doubt he will prove to be a major strike weapon for Belconnen United this year, nailing plenty of goals in the top grade and I hope they look after him really well in 2017 as I can see him easily becoming a Wollongong local in 2018. He’s not only a very gifted footballer he is also a very, very impressive young man.”