With a lot of dedication to her sportsmanship, one local high school student has been accepted into the Queensland Shadow Team as the team’s youngest player.
At just 15 years old, Redcliffe State High School student Ruby Bird recently competed in the Queensland Representative School Sport Football Championships in Townsville, bringing home a bronze medal and a successful spot in the Queensland Shadow Team.
“To be one of the youngest players to make the Queensland Shadow Team fills me with a lot of pride,” Ruby said.
“I went in with the attitude to work hard and get noticed, but wasn’t expecting to be selected for the Queensland team or even shadow, as I know that I still have a couple more years to play.
“When I heard my name called for the shadow team, I was so happy and shocked.”
A Rising Star on the Football Pitch
Ruby’s ever-growing interest in sport started around age five. First joining Peninsula Power at age six, she fondly remembers joining her dad’s weekly fitness groups around this same time.
“I played for Peninsula Power for eight years, and for the last three of them, I played above my age group; playing for U17s when I was 14, and debuting for the U23s and women’s team when I was 15,” Ruby said.
“During my 24, 25 and 26 season, I was extremely lucky to be selected to play in the Emerging Matildas Championship; playing in the Indigenous Invitational XI team in 2024, and then being selected to play for Queensland in 2025 and 2026.”
With Ruby’s long-term goals being to join the Matildas, she is currently focusing on improving her skills and hoping to make a junior Matildas squad in the meantime.
As her passion for the sport grows, Ruby said she loves the atmosphere that school sport brings.
“Playing with girls you haven’t really played with before, you start to bond so quickly with them and we all become one strong team with the same goal in mind,” she said.
“It’s so good to be involved in a competition like that throughout the year, as it brings a different level of football into your season.”
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