Kicking goals left and right: Shepparton’s Zoe Jarvis recently represented Victoria at the SSA National Football Championships. Photo: Sharelle Jarvis
There’s no spiking body temperature or aches associated with the fever Zoe Jarvis has — hers is strictly of the white line variety.
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The football-mad pre-teen played 13 games over a seven-day period last week with only one day off, making sure she didn’t leave empty-handed from her purple patch on the pitch.
Jarvis barely had time to clean her boots after returning from the School Sports Australia Football Championships before suiting up for Shepparton Junior Soccer Association in the Australian Football Skool Shepparton Cup.
Her side placed fourth at nationals, so there was no silverware there.
But back on home turf, Jarvis strutted her stuff to hoist the trophy in SJSA colours in the under-12 division.
SJSA technical director David Davkovski hinted at her talent, saying the professional stage awaits if she upholds her current trajectory.
Skipping away: Zoe Jarvis in action for Victoria. Photo: Sharelle Jarvis
“She’s definitely one of the top female athletes currently coming through the ranks,” he said.
“She played with us (in the tournament) and she’s going to be a top player, guaranteed.
“As soon as one of the big clubs sees her over the next couple of years, they’ll grab her straight away.”
Well before her triumph on Sunday, Jarvis was named the sole Shepparton product picked in the under-12 female state squad.
In addition to making the final 30 of the National Talent Centre, the Guthrie St Primary School student progressed through a series of trials to make the grade for Victoria, much to the joy of her mum Sharelle.
“She had maybe three trials that she had to go through and every step along the way they cut girls,” Sharelle said.
“She actually missed the second one because she participated in the state cross-country as well, but managed to get to the third one and was selected.
Life’s a pitch: Zoe Jarvis has football running through her veins. Photo: Sharelle Jarvis
“They were very lucky this year because Victoria hosted the championships, they were able to select two teams and Zoe was one of the names that they read out which was pretty exciting.
“They run the announcement of who’s selected almost like American Idol, where they do a livestream and they call out the names one by one.
“It was a bit of a nerve-racking experience waiting to see whether she’d made it through.”
Jarvis trained in Melbourne for six weeks before lining up for Victoria at the national championships.
The tournament was held at the home of the Matildas, a state-of-the-art facility built for the Australian national side to use as a hub during their 2023 Women’s World Cup run.
She’s the man: Zoe Jarvis playing for SJSA’s under-12s in the AFS Shepparton Cup. Photo: Sharelle Jarvis
According to her mum, Jarvis got a real thrill out of gracing the same fields her heroes Sam Kerr, Steph Catley and Ellie Carpenter did mere months ago.
“After all the success the Matildas have recently had it was pretty exciting to be able to play amongst pitches that they’ve trained on,” she said.
“They didn’t come home with a medal, but I’m really proud that she’s been able to come away from the experience knowing what a wonderful opportunity she’s been given and the standard of soccer is incredible.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for her to play amongst girls which she doesn’t get to do in her home town.”
Jarvis won’t play alongside her state mates until at least next year.
For now it’s back to kicking it with the boys, a common occurrence in her budding round-ball journey.
Jarvis has played most of her football alongside males at Shepparton South and the SJSA side, but her passion for the game transcends any gender barriers.
She loves the game — lives it, in fact — and thankfully her coaches do too.
Sharelle praised the likes of Davkovski and co for investing the most precious commodity into the next generation of hopefuls in the Goulburn Valley — their time and wisdom.
“It’s wonderful to know that we have such talented coaches here in Shepparton,“ she said.
“It doesn’t put us in a rush to head to Melbourne if that’s what her future leads to because we know that she’s getting quality coaching here in Shepp.”
