Congratulations Mr David Murphy – team member of the winning State League Cup 2017

Mr David Murphy, Head of Year 10 and Mathematics Teacher, has had a very exciting year on the Soccer field.

Mr Murphy is a member of the Western Knights Football Club based in Mosman Park. His team won the State League Cup and recently travelled to the Gold Coast to represent the State in the final 32 of the Westfield FFA Cup.

What do you love about soccer?

Soccer is a fantastic and ever-growing sport in Australia. It is a perfect platform to meet new people from different walks of life; soccer is really classified as 'The World Game'. It is the most played and supported sport globally. No matter where you are from in the world and whatever language you speak, you can always have a 10-15-minute conversation with someone if you see them wearing their soccer jersey of choice.

How long have you been playing soccer?

I have been playing soccer for about 25 years. After moving to Perth from Ireland in 2010, I began playing at a semi-professional level in the WA State League. In 2015, I signed with NPL team Stirling Lions and in 2017 I signed with Western Knights Football Club. This year, we were fortunate enough to win the State League Cup and make the last 32 in the country. We represented Western Australia in the Gold Coast on 3 August.

What advice would you give to a student wanting to follow their sporting or other dreams?

My advice to any student who is chasing their dream, sporting or otherwise, is to enjoy every moment of the process and to appreciate all those who support you along the way. When you get a little bit older and all the focus is on you, it becomes very easy to forget about the people that got your there in the first place. Some people dream of being a superstar athlete while for others, the dream is playing socially with a team of friends. Either way, every individual's dream is achievable through hard work, dedication and a willingness to learn. If you are not enjoying the process, chances are you are chasing the wrong dream – or someone else's!

Do you think your team played well in QLD?

We played 'OK' on the Gold Coast, but we were facing a really professional outfit. In the end, we lost 3-1 and our goalkeeper was the Man of the Match. The experience from start to finish was exceptional and I was lucky to have enjoyed such an experience so late in my career – possibly my last season as a player. The team that beat us, Gold Coast City, are the non-A-league favourites to be crowned Australian champions so it would be nice to say that we were beaten by the best. It was the first time in my career where I have left the field thinking that we were beaten by a much better team.