Waikato Bay of Plenty Football's Seamus Casey will help develop football in the region.
Bay of Plenty footballers are set to benefit from the bolstering of Waikato Bay of Plenty Football's coaching ranks.
Cliff Harris, Nico Girard and Seamus Casey will work in the Bay as development officers – charged with growing the game in the region. Harris and Girard will be based in Tauranga and Casey in Rotorua.
While they have a wider goal to grow the game, Harris will focus on the female game and futsal, Girard will have an emphasis on coach education and player development and Casey specialises in goalkeeping.
The 25-year-old says he has loved football since he was 5 years old, when he saw former Dutch and Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar in action.
"I always wanted to be a goalkeeper. Football is what I have done and once I was old enough to play in goal, I was training four times a week.
"Goalkeeping is the best job in football. There is a villain mentality about it, you are there to stop goals which is the reason people turn up to watch football, and I kind of like that. I love that look on a striker's face when you pull one out of the top corner."
Casey moved from to Rotorua from Auckland just weeks ago and says he loves the area.
"It is the opportunity of a lifetime to work with my passion and develop it in an amazing area like this. I would have been mad to say no."
Casey says, as part of the Goals in Schools programme, there is a drive on futsal and Waikato Bay of Plenty Football has given schools sets of goals of balls to promote the sport.
"We just want to see more kids active and playing the sport and we will also work with clubs to develop pathways for players."
Waikato Bay of Plenty Football's Seamus Casey will help develop football in the Tauranga area. Photo / Adyn Ogle
Canadian Girard has a master's degree in physical education and is a Uefa B-licenced coach, and says he was keen to move to New Zealand after a visit 10 years ago.
"When I was here last, I really enjoyed the environment and the people, it is similar to western Canada. I was looking at it firstly from a lifestyle perspective."
Girard's focus on coach development and he says it can be a tricky subject when trying to change established lines of thinking.
"I will be working with New Zealand football courses and community level courses. Coaches can come with pre-conceived idea on what they may have been taught when they played the game whereas the children are blank slates.
"I think it is important to know the person first, it is not about this is how things are done, it is knowing their situation and what they are looking for."
He also says there is work that can be done between players and schools, and he also said the female games is set for an explosion in participation.
"In our area, we specifically want to tackle football in schools and coordinating them with clubs. Not just that players are going from schools to clubs, but that clubs can offer programmes with the schools."
Goalkeeper bootcamps: Ages 9-12 years, 4-5pm. Ages 13-16 years, 5.15-6.15pm. Mondays (to April 1) Fergusson Park, Tauranga. Links Ave, Mount Maunganui. Tuesdays (to April 2) Puarenga Park, Rotorua. Wednesdays (to April 3) Crown Park, Taupō.
