JUST over a year ago, the Newcastle Jets in partnership with Football Federation Australia and Northern NSW Football unveiled the emerging Jets program.
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Its aim was to provide players as young as 10 years old a pathway to progress to the A-League and W-League.
Pictured at the time of the launch were Jets' W-League and Matildas midfielder Emily van Egmond, and alongside her was then 14-year-old Emerging Jets junior Sophie Nenadovic.
Fast forward a year later and the emerging Jets program is starting to bear fruit.
Now 15, SophiezNenadovic made her debut for the Jets' W-League side, coming on as a substitute for the last 15 minutes in the 4-0 loss to Sydney FC last Saturday.
The young Jets side is filling the gaps left by departed experienced players such as van Egmond.
However, the debut of Nenadovic shows that not only is the future bright for Newcastle's W-League side but also rewards the club's faith in local juniors as a result of the emerging Jets program.
The rise through the ranks comes as no surprise to Jets coach Peter McGuinness, who saw enough in Nenadovic's potential to throw her on in the dying minutes of the match.
"I thought Sophie performed well," he said. "She's a young girl, she came into the game and showed some nice touches, it looked fairly easy for her.
"Sophie is a really good kid, she's a great player, very versatile, who is two footed.
"If she keeps training and working hard then she will become one hell of a player."
Nenadovic was put on the pitch directly up against the Sky Blues' New Zealand striker Emma Kete, who has almost more than 50 caps for the Football Ferns.
"It's not easy to be thrown into a competitive environment but Sophie more then held her own against experienced players in the Sydney side who boast a wealth of international experience," McGuinness said.
The 15-year-old, originally from Warners Bay Soccer Club, said she felt nervous when she realised she was coming on.
"At first I didn't want to come on because I was so nervous, but after the first couple of minutes I got a couple of touches and it just felt like every other game," she said.
It's a remarkable rise for the 15-year-old but Nenadovic is staying grounded and just wants to gain as much time on the pitch as possible for the rest of the season.
"It's all about getting as much experience as possible, I'm playing against players that are quite a lot older than me," she said.
As for national team ambitions, Nenadovic said that she was disappointed that the under 17s couldn't make next year's world cup in Costa Rica but the young gun has new goals.
"If I can keep improving, I'd like to try to crack the under-20s side," she said.
"That's the next level up for me and I am determined to get there."
