Gungahlin United president Ricardo Alberto remembers there being about 500 juniors at the club when he first joined in 2002.
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That number has now swelled to more than 1350.
It's that growth and grassroots support that gives Alberto the confidence to suggest Gungahlin can turn its rich junior base into a senior powerhouse for years to come.
Of course, cultivating juniors takes time.
That's why Gungahlin United has embarked on an impressive recruiting spree to ensure it will be competitive for its inaugural campaign in the Capital Football National Premier League next year.
It all starts at the top with head coach Claudio Canosa, who boasts more than 12 years of experience coaching at state, national and international levels, including a stint with the Fijian national team.
Woden Valley coach Mitch Stevens joins the club in an assistant role to offer an insight into the ACT premier division.
Then there's the players, including Golden Boot winner Stephen Domenici from the Cooma Tigers, Belconnen United duo Dustin Wells and Jack Green, and Josh Gaspari and Nathan Tidmarsh from Canberra Olympic.
Alberto said improving the coaching at the club was identified as a key element to retaining players once they left the junior ranks.
"When I got involved in the club we had somewhere close to 500 kids, and this year we had about 1350 registrations, so there's been a huge increase," Alberto said.
"Over the last few years we've been investing more and more into coaching to make the club attractive to players to come and play with us.
"Having invested in all of that and see them walk away didn't seem like a good investment."
Gungahlin United previously had an arrangement where its juniors would be linked with Canberra City's seniors, but decided to go it alone.
Bringing Canosa on board has helped with the transition.
A holder of a FIFA Pro-licence, Canosa played more than 200 games in the National Soccer League before making the switch to coaching.
He was a technical analyst for the Olyroos at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and has coached with Marconi, Wollongong and Fiji from 2010 to 2011, and was most recently the head coach of the Macarthur Rams.
Canosa said he was attracted to Gungahlin United by the new development in the region and the passion from the people involved.
"I think I am in the right place with a lot of good people and good players," Canosa said.
"I am in contact with the players and they show a lot of good qualities.
"We are going to build a competitive team from the base and we want to make sure we're representing Canberra and Gungahlin the best way possible."
Domenici is one of Gungahin United's key signings after the striker helped Cooma claim the league championship this year.
"Cooma was my first club in Canberra, so it's always hard to leave the club that you're at," Domenici said.
"I needed a new challenge, a new test, and I found it here in Gungahlin.
"We've definitely got the infrastructure here, we've got a very good coach, everyone's doing their part, so I don't see any reason why we can't be competitive with any other team in the league."