PICTURED: Sophy Lewis, Warners Bay FC, Macquarie Football
Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) is pleased to announce the Newcastle Permanent Coach of the Month for August 2016 across the zones.
Football enriches character, intelligence, coordination and skill and each season, brave men and women step up to the plate and take on the task of helping our young athletes reach their potential: The Coach.
“Good coaches have a positive influence on our players and are essential to the success of our sport. Coaches should be recognised for their contribution in helping players improve their skills, develop confidence as well as creating an ongoing love for football that leads to their continued participation within the game,” Community Football Manager, Peter Haynes said.
Each month, one registered coach from each of NNSWF’s seven Member Zones will be awarded the Newcastle Permanent Community Coach of the Month award.
Each winner will receive a Newcastle Permanent Community Coaching kit consisting of 6 balls, 20 markers, 10 bibs and a whistle, as well as a polo shirt and cap, to assist in fulfilling their roles at their respective club.
At the end of the season, each Zone will nominate one community coach from their pool of winners, to represent their Zone for the opportunity to be named “Newcastle Permanent Community Coach of the Year” announced at NNSWF annual awards night.
“Each of the August winners has brought a lot of enthusiasm, support, and dedication to their team’s improvement and worked hard to ensure their players enjoy their time within football,” Haynes said.
Newcastle Permanent Chief Executive Officer, Terry Millett echoes Haynes sentiments and applauds those who received the award.
“Coaching plays a vital role in developing the skills and attitude of young players, and it is great that Newcastle Permanent can provide the opportunity to recognise the efforts of local coaches who are dedicated to developing their players,” Millett said.
The August Newcastle Permanent Coach of the Month Award recipients from across each of its seven Member Zones are as follows:
Shane Blasche
Casino RSM Cobras FC
Football Far North Coast
Shane has been a dedicated coach for a number of years, at Casino RSM Cobras. He has coached teams in the Miniroo’s, junior competitive and senior men’s divisions for a number of years, often coaching several teams in one season. Shane has always been extremely passionate about developing the skills of our young players. He has been a loyal club member since beginning his days as a junior player.
Will Makepeace
Oakes Valley Attunga FC
Northern Inland Football
Will does an amazing job with the U7 group. The comments from Parents and Grandparents attest to his contribution to the players enjoyment and development. He ensures training is fun but organised, game days and times are communicated clearly. He treats each player with kindness and respect. He ensures each player receives equal opportunity to have time on the ball from set plays. He makes sure player safety is assured by participants having the correct game wear and protective clothing. He gathers the players around before and after the game to offer words of encouragement. All this and Will is not even 16 but playing Premier League as well. What a great credit to his family and Club. Will Makepeace is a great ambassador for his chosen sport.
Johaan Kloosterhoff
Wallamba FC
Football Mid North Coast
Johaan has committed himself to this team over a number of years with great enthusiasm. He has keenly welcomed the team, and new members, to the upcoming season with enthusiasm and began the integration and training preparation as soon as it was reasonable to get the kids together. He is very keen and the kids are benefiting greatly as a result. Johaan has committed himself to improving his coaching by scheduling the NNSWF coaching days this season. It would be great to recognise his effort and a tremendous fillip for our club to have him recognised.
Sophy Lewis
Warners Bay FC
Macquarie Football
Sophy coaches our girls team and trains in her own Under 14’s WPL team straight after.
She engages extremely well with the kids and they respect her for being involved in all facets of training. She provides a lot of variety to make sure the girls don’t lose interest and makes everything simply about having fun.
During games, she covers a huge amount of ground on the field to ensure she is close to the play providing as much positive advice as possible.
Sophy is the first person there and the last to leave which is a big responsibility for a 14 year old.
We have a player that have difficulty adapting her kicking techniques which has been identified by others as a safety concern. Sophy has always remained positive in explaining how it should be done and reminding her when the player swings back into her old habits.
Sophy always encourages fair play and is the first to run over and help out opposition kids when they get hurt. She definitely leads by example and our team respects her for it.
I know our entire team appreciates the time she puts into everything she does for us and hopes she continues to coach for many years to come.
Phil Lavender
Medowie Football Club
Newcastle Football
This has been Phil’s first year coaching soccer, and his first time in any coaching role.
He is great with the kids, being able to motivate them and keep them interested whilst also teaching them fundamental ball handling skills.
Phil has used his own time to attend coaching clinics that will assist him in becoming a better coach for his team.
The kids all respect Phil and eagerly anticipate their ‘Red frog treat’ at the end of the game.
It is not easy keeping 6 year old’s focused during games, but Phil does a great job interacting with them and involving them throughout the games.
Alexis Grayson
Corindi Red Rock SC
North Coast Football
Alexis is very dedicated to the kids not only in her team but across the whole club!! She goes above and beyond for these great kids!! She does a fantastic job!!!
Corey Solomons
Tenambit Sharks FC
Hunter Valley Football
My partner Corey has coached since U6s, now coaching an U11 team and looking at continuing in the future. Always early to every training session to setup and well organized. He’s goes out of his way to make sure everyone, parents included, are happy with everything and are well informed with any changes or game day information. He considers every kid equal and has a fair go whether they are talented or not, his number 1 rule: Have Fun! With being the President of the club he’s always busy, but makes sure his time with his team is not affected. He’s also been known to train other teams if coaches are unavailable.
About NNSWF’s Community Partnership with Newcastle Permanent:
Newcastle Permanent is the major partner of Community Football across Northern NSW and has partnered with NNSWF since 2008, supporting the High-Performance Program and Junior Football Program.
Newcastle Permanent’s investment in football is one of its most important community partnerships and reflects the financial institution’s commitment to supporting the local community.
The Community Partnership with Newcastle Permanent includes recognition programs such as Newcastle Permanent Volunteer of the Month, Newcastle Permanent Community Coach of the Month, Newcastle Permanent Community Club of the Year, training tools for community coaches and volunteers, as well as the distribution of over 9,000 free balls to young players.
