Over 100 coaches working at all levels of the game have been brought together for three days of invaluable personal development as the New Zealand Football National Coaching Conference (NCC) kicks off at QBE Stadium in Auckland.

The conference is one of the key events on the coaching calendar and provides participants with the chance to learn from the likes of All Whites coach Fritz Schmid, New Zealand U-20 and former Wellington Phoenix coach Des Buckingham and former All Whites James Bannatyne and Andy Boyens, as well as a number of notable figures in the community game.

Insight is also being provided by sources from outside of football, for example Andy Rogers, a coaching consultant for Sport New Zealand, and performance coach Craig Lewis, who has worked with the New Zealand Kiwis rugby league team and other world champions.

In addition to the value provided by the highly-regarded speakers, the conference provides the opportunity for coaches from all over the country to network and bounce ideas off each other.

“The coaching community has responded enthusiastically and turned up in great numbers, which underlines the passion for coaching that exists in New Zealand and the commitment of the participants to their ongoing development,” says New Zealand Football Coach Development Manager Steven Dillon, responsible for organising and overseeing the running of the event.

“What’s most pleasing to see is the range of coaches in the room, there are people here of both genders from all levels of the game – from former professional players and those coaching at an international level to others working in the national competitions or at the grassroots. This annual conference provides the opportunity for everyone to come together with the common goal of becoming better coaches.”

The National Coaching Conference was opened by New Zealand Football President Deryck Shaw this morning, who addressed a group of participants which includes the likes of former All Whites coach Kevin Fallon and ex-internationals such as Ivan Vicelich, Chris Zoricich and Katie Duncan.

Tania Neill, who played six matches for the Football Ferns over three years from 1993, is also among the attendees and intends to make the most of the unique opportunity.

“I’m looking forward to meeting a whole range of coaches and to build on the platforms that will allow me to carry on with this wonderful journey of coaching. I can’t leave coaching alone and am always wanting to improve,” she says.

After her successful playing career, Neill moved into football coaching and has more recently tried her hand at the small-sided game of futsal, in which she coaches a Canterbury United representative team. She is also set to return to football next year after signing up to coach the premier women’s team of Christchurch club Halswell United, where she began her own career as a player.

As well as attending the conference and looking to work her way through the New Zealand Football Coach Development Pathway, Neill is also part of the inaugural intake on the Female Coach Scholarship Programme, another ground-breaking initiative from the governing body that provides mentoring or financial support to 21 promising female coaches.

“I’m really thankful for the programme and am really looking forward to the experience it’s going to provide,” she says.

“These sorts of opportunities are priceless – if it wasn’t for things like the conference and the female programme it would be so much more difficult. To have everyone together and working towards that common goal of making the sport better is so important. We can’t be coaching our players well if we aren’t continually being pushed in our own endeavours.”

For further information on New Zealand Football Coach Development, please visit www.nzfootball.co.nz/coaches or contact Coach Development Manager Steven Dillon at steven.dillon@nzfootball.co.nz

Article added: Friday 27 July 2018