ROSEWOOD United Soccer Club secretary David Graham enjoys doing what he can to keep the sporting organisation moving ahead.

Apart from his secretarial duties, he serves as an official on game days and often lends a hand line marking and maintaining the fields at Thagoona.

One of the tasks he gains most satisfaction from is managing the club’s under 15/16 boys development team playing in this year’s Queensland Christian Soccer Association competition.

The young Crusaders secured their second win of the season in beating St Pauls United Blue 5-2 at Caledonian Park last Saturday.

David and coach Daniel Lamming are maintaining a positive approach as the boys continue to learn.

“They’re playing in a higher division,” David said.

“They are not a Div 1 team but they’re giving it everything they can.

“There’s quite a few improvements with the whole team. They are improving every game.”

David said it was important to keep the players’ looking ahead.

“We tell them ‘we can’t complain, you’re doing your best’,” David said.

“This is their first time playing Div 1. It is a lot faster and it is a lot rougher.”

This season is the second year David and Daniel have worked together with the squad of 15.

“Daniel is good. He’s pretty easy going,” David said.

“It’s a good age group. Typical teenage boys with all their hormones.

“They do get a bit cheeky but we go ‘hey come on’ and they are usually pretty good after that.”

A number of the boys were aged 13 or 14 last year and gained valuable experience against quality older opponents.

Joel Taylor and Bligh Crawford share the captaincy with Aiden Lamming and Harrison McArthur regularly fulfilling goalkeeping duties.

David said it was important to keep encouraging the players who represent the future of the club.

“They are learning heaps,” Rosewood-based David said.

“We are developing these boys to play together and next year when they go into the higher grade, they should be ready for it.”

David has been at the Rosewood club for seven years, having played on the wing for Blackstone United as a youngster.

He also had a stint playing rugby league for Norths.

However, he returned to soccer through his son Bligh, who is in the current team.

“It’s seeing the kids have fun,” David said, having been a manager for more than five years.

“The biggest thing is seeing them all come together and try their best.”

David said the boys were elated after the first win – 1-0 over Sunnybank earlier in the season.

After their latest victory, the Crusaders have scheduled matches against Brisbane Valley, Sunnybank and St Paul’s Blue, again.

David’s partner Tammy Crawford is the Rosewood club’s president.

He is thrilled to see the Rosewood club continuing to grow with 19 teams this season, including the youngest Tiny Tots.

“It’s going very well,” he said, keen to see more girls’ teams developed in the future.

“We’ve got quite a few girls that have played this year that have never played before.

“They are going unbelievable.”