Photo: Tim Melville, Westlakes Wildcats, Macquarie Football.
Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) is pleased to announce the Newcastle Permanent Coach of the Month for March 2017 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.
“Coaching is one of the most important factors in the football experience had by our players. It is important that coaches like these continue the great work they are doing at their club so that their players develop a love for the game and continue to have the best football experience possible,” 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 March 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 March Newcastle Permanent Coach of the Month Award recipients from across each of its seven Member Zones are as follows:
Craig English
Jesmond Football Club
Newcastle Football
Craig is an incredible coach. He coaches two Under 15’s teams at the club and to do this he gave up the chance to watch his little daughter and eldest son play, however, his middle child plays in both teams as a multi-registered player.
He also takes his team to the Summer 6’s competition for the past two years and at the end of those seasons organises t-shirts for the kids as a reward. He gives up so much for his teams and he loves the children he coaches like his own. He also organises transport for all the refugee children registered in his teams. He is just an amazing coach and I have no idea what the club would do without him!
Steve Edmonds
Mullumbimby Brunswick Valley FC
Football Far North Coast
Steve Edmonds is like many club people and wears multiples hats. As a coach, he coaches the 16’s and Senior Men’s Division 7 and Division 4 teams. He is supportive, reliable and devotes many hours to the club and individual players. Steve actually gave up playing this year even though he is still a very competent goalkeeper, simply to dedicate more time to coaching. Steve instils good values within his players and promotes the spirit of play rather than the result. He is exactly the type of coach who encourages players to participate and to have fun
Shane Ryan
Cundletown Jets
Football Mid North Coast
Shane has been a coach with Cundletown for over 9 years and has been with this team since they were U7’s watching them grow and develop into a great competitive team. He always displays a fair, kind and encouraging approach with his coaching making sure all players receive equal playing time regardless of the player’s ability.
Joanne Powell
Westlawn Tigers
North Coast Football
Jo is a super coach, she is coaching two teams this season, an Under 15’s team and the Women’s team. She believes in every one of her soccer stars and knows how to get the best out of her players and all the kids look up to her as a coach.
Tim Melville
Westlakes Wildcats
Macquarie Football
Tim Melville is an exceptional coach who is never short on praise and encouragement when it comes to his team of kids. He treats each child with equal amounts of respect and individualised attention, showing and encouraging them in the best way to reach their potential as a player. Tim instils in the team the understanding that winning with integrity is more important than just winning and that losing with integrity is equally important, as it drives each player to view each game as a learning opportunity to better themselves for future matches.
Tim is so dedicated to his players, that he finishes work after a long 8-hour shift underground all night each Saturday morning and drives to the match to be there with the team on game day, foregoing sleep until the match is over. He also goes straight to work (again for another 8-hour shift) after training each week. He’s so keen to get the season off to a great start, we have been training twice a week since mid-January. His enthusiasm for the team and the game is evident when he is training with the kids and coaching from the sidelines, looking for better ways to help the team improve. The respect the kids have for him is also evident, as they listen to him and follow instructions both on and off the field.
Last season, my son was diagnosed with a serious medical condition, that has made playing soccer more difficult for him but this hasn’t slowed him down. Tim has encouraged him to do his best on the field & is always making sure that he is ok and not in any discomfort.
My favourite thing that Tim has done with the team so far, has been to ask the team what their goals for the season are. I know that he will go out of his way to help each individual child achieve their goal as this was the goal he set for himself. My son’s goals were to become fitter, always try his hardest and not give up. After making this goal, he attended his schools Zone swimming carnival, losing his goggles mid-race. Despite this, he kept on going until the finish, when asked why he didn’t just stop, he replied, ‘Because Coach Tim told us to never give up!’ When this was relayed to Tim, his pride was evident as he became emotional. This is just one of the qualities that make Tim not only a fantastic coach but a fantastic role model for our kids. I’m am proud to work alongside him as manager of our team.
Terry Priest
Kurri Kurri Junior Football Club
Hunter Valley Football
Terry has coached for many years on his children’s teams and is still here in the Under 16’s where his son plays. Terry encourages all players no matter how much or how little experience they have. He is always positive and turns negatives into positives. He doesn’t like abusive oppositional coaches and often tells them that it’s a kids game and they are having fun. This is my second year working with him as his manager. It makes a difference when you have a great coach.
Adam Ramage
Northern Inland Football North SAP
Northern Inland Football
Adam is a fantastic coach for the U9’s North squad and works extremely hard with every session to make certain that all of his players understand the fundamentals of the game while at the same time have fun and enjoy each session. He recently completed his FFA “C” License and to go back to a younger age group this year is something to be admired when most would have wanted to impart their learnt knowledge into an older team.
Adam moved into Armidale recently from Guyra where over previous years he has worked with senior men’s teams. Mentoring his daughter Taryn with the U10’s has given him another perspective on where he wants to go with his coaching and I believe that he can only be a positive asset to the football in Northern Inland both now and in the future.
