United have a six-pack

Carl Shailer is taking up a coaching role this year. PHOTO/FILE

WAIRARAPA United are gearing up for a busy and successful 2016 football season.

The club, which has its headquarters at Memorial Park in Masterton, will have six teams in operation with the first training sessions planned for next Tuesday.

As has been the norm for several years, the premier men's team will compete in the Central League. They are yet to win that title but were runners-up in their first year with former Phoenix star Paul Ifill as coach last year and Ifill will have the reins again. Assisting him will be Steve Coleman.

Early indications are that the bulk of last season's CL squad will be on deck again and there is the possibility they could be joined by a couple of imports from Fiji.

And with Ifill always keen to give the region's top juniors the chance to shine, it would be no surprise if he included some of the Heartland Wairarapa team which competed so well in the national youth league championship.

Wairarapa United will also have a side contesting the Capital third division competition. It will be coached by Steve Dunbar and Carl Shailer, with Shailer's appointment not necessarily signalling the end of a long playing stint with the CL side, for whom he has made more than 200 appearances, the highest by any individual. His main focus will be on coaching but he could still turn out for the premier squad if required.

The impact made by their sole women's team last season has led to an increase in the number of women wanting to play for Wairarapa United and they will have teams in both the Capital premier league and third division competitions. The premier division side will again be coached by club president Phil Keinzley and has an awfully hard act to follow, having won the second and first division titles in the past two years and gone a remarkable 33 consecutive games without defeat. They are likely to be spearheaded by three players who have played for New Zealand in the past, Meisha Boone, Zarnia Cogle and Michele Clarke.

On the local front, Wairarapa United will have men's teams in division one and division two of the Wairarapa championship. The division one side is likely to largely consist of younger players pressing hard for inclusion in the Capital third division side while the division two team will be more socially inclined.

For Keinzley the increase in playing numbers is a huge boost for Wairarapa United and he is quick to emphasise that none of the rosters have been finalised and any prospective players were welcome to turn up at training sessions where they would given every chance to demonstrate their talents.