[Alan]

I just wondered how many of the people already in NZ had children playing football on a regular basis and what you if any thoughts you had on it i.e. standard of coaching, availability of teams/coaching, is it played at school or after school as in the U.K and anything else you can think of.

The other thing is that I understand that some sports stop having teams outside of school after 13 years old, if this is correct, why is this? Some teams still seem to cater for older but generally not.

All thought welcome.

[Alan]

BUMP!!!!

Or do I get an award for finding a topic no one has any views on?

[jubjub]

There are loads of young kids playing soccer, my friends hubby has been coaching a team for the last year, generally a weekday evening coaching session with matches held on saturday mornings, but these are in soccer clubs rather than schools, cant help you with what schools do.

[Alan]

I am interested in understanding how the whole kids footie thing works there both inside and outside of school. Any info kindly received as have two footie mad kids!

[Steadybears]

I would be intersted in this as well - have a 18 year old on who is mad about soccer and would love to play or get into a club once he gets to NZ - which is in about 6 weeks.

Thanks again

[jubjub]

http://www.fencibles.org.nz/

here is the website for the club thats at the bottom of our street! Its always very very busy on coaching night and match day!

[Steadybears]

Thanks Jubjub- have been on the web page and been able to contact them.

Jayne

[craig1234564]

hey im thinking the same thing too,, one of my biggest worries is missing football if we emigrate and my son not being able to play or him hating football and liking rugby instead,, that fencibles site looks great !!! does anyone know of a similar set up in the christchurch area??

[JJG]

hey im thinking the same thing too,, one of my biggest worries is missing football if we emigrate and my son not being able to play or him hating football and liking rugby instead,, that fencibles site looks great !!! does anyone know of a similar set up in the christchurch area??

My boys play for http://www.ferrymeadbayssoccer.co.nz/
There are plenty of other setups in Christchurch as well.

[kowhai]

Hi. There is no soccer team at my children's primary school. There is a rugby team though ( ! ). The kids do play soccer at lunch time - just mucking around , not taken very seriously. There are soccer clubs in the Bay of Plenty - these meet Saturday mornings over autumn/winter and appear quite popular with boys and girls.

[Tia Maria]

This is a link to our local soccer club:

www.unitedsoccer1.org.nz

(look under small whites for a description of the junior league)

My son is 6 and started soccer last year, so I'm only familiar with the midgets league. :) The way it works here is that notices get sent out to all the local schools and those that are interested sign up, pay a fee and buy the kit.

You can request to be on a team with a friend but the teams will have children from all the local schools - its a great way for the kids to meet children from different schools.

There is a lot of parent involvement with parents acting as coaches/managers and assistant managers. Our team chose to have practice once a week at the local park and they would play against other teams on a Saturday. Its a really big set up with all the age groups playing on the sports fields throughout the morning. There is also someone selling coffees, hot dogs etc. :nice1

At the end of each match each team will award a 'player of the day certificate & trophy', when my son got the trophy he took it to bed with him as he was so proud!:D The trophy is returned the following week and the results will be noted on a lead table. At the end of the season every team goes to prize giving and receives a participation certificate, one player will receive a 'best player trophy ' to keep, and the winning team will all receive trophies.

They then had a lolly scramble and a team photo.

As they get older they split the league into participation (for fun) and a more serious league, which you have to try out for.

I'm not keen on soccer and thought I would hate it, but actually found I quite enjoyed it - but when they are 5 you are just happy if they kick the ball in the right direction!

So yes it is a big thing here, and the parents are very much involved, otherwise I don't think it would be possible.

Cheers

Tia

[mgbridges]

We've been looking into this just recently for our 6yr old lad as there doesn't seem to be soccer or rugby offered through school. In our local area the local footie club are these guys: http://www.ecbafc.co.nz and they get a lot of kids from our son's school, boys & girls. There is a lot of parent involvement and this particular club is quite big with a really good club room and facilities. $115 for the year, they provide the shirt but you have to buy the shorts, socks, shin pads and boots.

We also looked into Rugby League (OH being a Yorkshireman an' all) and found these guys: http://www.cudas.co.nz $60 for the year, they provide all the kit, you buy the boots. Our son went along to the training session that they had with The Warriors (http://www.warriors.co.nz/) at the club and enjoyed it but... he can't do both League and Footie.

This is because the regular 'training' sessions are both on Saturday mornings which seems to be the case with an awful lot of sports if they are not offered by your kids school.

For now we'll be signing him up to do Footie as it seems to be what most of the kids at his school do and we're hoping to keep up his interest in League as we now have a Family Season ticket for The Warriors.

Anneliese

[Kim39]

I have said this before that the youth, and that is 8 and above is associated to clubs, but once they hit 13 they are then under the guidance of the schools. I am currently involved with St Peters school in Cambridge, and the only way the players have any association with a club - and by that i mean amateur status, is coaching from one of the coaches from a club. I am also involved with Te Awamutu, who play in the Federation League, and we have tried to use players aged 15 and above, but this can only happen if they aren't involved in the game in school. If they are in that set up then it is difficult to actually get them having game time. New Zealand does have a youth set up to a degree, but it is few and far between, unlike the UK where we have youth playing in competition from the ages of 10.
It comes quite obvious when we are travelling 2.5hrs to play a game which is supposedly in our district. I suppose that is the price we have to pay for the game not really gaining the interest that the game brings worldwide.

As a footnote Alan, that offer still stands if you head to this neck of the woods;)

Kim

[Alan]

Kim, Thanks and I will hold you to that! I have noticed in the Hamilton area it does seem to be 13 and under as you say, but in Auckland it seems that there are a lot of clubs going all the way through the ages. Maybe Hamilton schools have more formalised footie on Saturday's hence the conflict?

In the UK school sport always has to take precedence over any external activity and is something that most governing bodies sign up to.

[IanW99]

Apparently the small whites (http://www.smallwhites.co.nz/) website has links to all the junior football clubs in NZ, it also has loads of other information if you haven't checked it out yet?

Ian

[Rusty]

Thanks for the link Ian, there is a lot of info on there.
I am also trying to understand the kids set up as one of my worries/regrets is seeing what would happen with my eldest who trains at Spurs (under 8 level), but has also had other interest from clubs. He is quite good and I guess I'll never know how good he could be with the high level of coaching he would continue to receive if still in England. It looks like there are some set ups where they progress good players in NZ and I can coach him as I do at club level here. He is also good at other sports, but being an English Football fan, I will never know what would have been. - At least he'll have a better overall life in NZ.
Sorry, bit of a waffle as I have thought about this a lot.

[Tia Maria]

Just signed my son up today - season starts in April, with try-outs for those in the Development league before then. My son is in the 'just for fun' league. :)

There was of course the obligatory sausage sizzle to keep everyone entertained while all the paperwork was being done.

Cheers

Tia

[stu70]

Is it the North American influence on NZ that makes people call that great game 'soccer' and not football which it is? I am all for learning from each other but whats up with this soccer thing? I am never able to understand why they call that "handball" football in America

[Tia Maria]

Is it the North American influence on NZ that makes people call that great game 'soccer' and not football which it is? I am all for learning from each other but whats up with this soccer thing? I am never able to understand why they call that "handball" football in America

Its my son that makes me call it Soccer - I get in big trouble if I call it football! :laugh

(not sure of original origins though)

Cheers

Tia

[Alan]

NZ and Australia recently renamed their federations to football and away from soccer to be more in line with the rest of the world.

[ellenmelon]

rusty..if its any consolation my cousins are all very good football players (triplets would you believe) and two of them were offered scholarships to play in the states. ive heard through friends i went to school with of people i know going to play in the UK for clubs...people are realising that football can be played semi professionally by some so its being taken more seriously which can only be a good thing. all my cousins played in under 21 regional rep teams so there is an opportunity to play to a higher level.

sorry if this makes no sense...2 in the morning and i should be in bed!

[craig1234564]

Thanks for the link Ian, there is a lot of info on there.
I am also trying to understand the kids set up as one of my worries/regrets is seeing what would happen with my eldest who trains at Spurs (under 8 level), but has also had other interest from clubs. He is quite good and I guess I'll never know how good he could be with the high level of coaching he would continue to receive if still in England. It looks like there are some set ups where they progress good players in NZ and I can coach him as I do at club level here. He is also good at other sports, but being an English Football fan, I will never know what would have been. - At least he'll have a better overall life in NZ.
Sorry, bit of a waffle as I have thought about this a lot.

Hi I understand how you are feeling, my son is only young and not playing yet but you would hope that if they are good then they would stand a better chance of getting in the national team, so yor son could be playing for New Zealand, where as in the UK the chance to play for the national team is very small.

[Rusty]

Thanks both for your answers.
It's more about being able to develop something he is good at, at a young age. If he (or the other 2) choose rugby or anything else then we will support them in that as well. He just shows a talent for football and I obviously like to watch him play at a good level. He won't be a pro, just good - you should see some of the other kids at the Spurs training, and at a young age!
I don't think I explained it that well, but I hope you get the idea.

[Alan]

Rusty I am the same as you with my two young lads, and have worried a little about this. I guess however that as children good at football typically have good hand/eye co-ordination so there should be plenty of other things for them to enjoy and do well at.

[Rusty]

Alan, you are right. And I am trying hard not to sound like a pushy parent...honest.
He does well at most sports (including touch rugby), football happens to be the one he enjoys most at the moment (and I enjoy watching). One less thing to worry about or help him move is the promise of something he likes doing won't go away.

[irishliz]

Just to add my thoughts - a very much more relaxed attitude here in NZ to football. We have two keen footballers (8 and 6) who were by no means the best in their teams in the UK but were competent. Here they really stand out as being way ahead of their team mates but it is not that they are good just that those around them don't seem to know what to do. The boys were taught skills in the UK whereas here the focus is on fun and running around. Coaching for rugby and cricket seem to be taken much more seriously.

[Tia Maria]

Just to add my thoughts - a very much more relaxed attitude here in NZ to football. We have two keen footballers (8 and 6) who were by no means the best in their teams in the UK but were competent. Here they really stand out as being way ahead of their team mates but it is not that they are good just that those around them don't seem to know what to do. The boys were taught skills in the UK whereas here the focus is on fun and running around. Coaching for rugby and cricket seem to be taken much more seriously.

I suspect what is offered may vary from area to area. They definitely do soccer skills courses here from age 5 up, plus have a development league which you only get into if you pass trials (you pay extra for both of these). Obviously NZ soccer just isn't on the same scale as UK football but the opportunities are there.

Perhaps check out these sites:

www.nzfc.co.nz/index.php?id=14

www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/

Cheers

Tia