With winter in full swing, this month we profile some local football volunteers working hard all season for their teams. The local superstars, most of whom are volunteering significant chunks of their own time to coach, talk all things football, getting started in coaching and their hobbies outside of the ‘beautiful game’.
Ryan Ward is the Football Development Manager at North Shore United (NSU) where he is in charge of the Junior and Youth Programme. He is also the Director of Football at Takapuna Grammar School (TGS). At TGS, he oversees 20 football teams, along with coaching the Boys First XI and Year 10 Gold team. Ryan is also a qualified physical education teacher and often does PE relief teaching at TGS. Originally from Birmingham, England, Ryan has been living on the North Shore for 11 years and shares some fantastic football stories from growing up in the UK.
What do you love about football?
Ryan Ward: I am a passionate football coach! I have been coaching now for 19 years since I was 15 years old. Football and sport in general is a great way to bring people together, socialise and be physically active. There is a reason why football is called the ‘Beautiful Game’. The simplicity and elegance of the game, the teamwork involved, the unpredictability, and the sheer joy it brings to fans and players.
What was your journey to becoming a coach? Explain how you got to your role.
Growing up in Birmingham, the second city of England, football is in your face all the time; on the TV, in the newspapers. As a kid growing up, I always wanted to be a footballer, but I came to the realisation at the age of 14, that it would be an unrealistic goal to make it professional. I was inspired at the time by my physical education teacher who gave me lots of opportunities in a range of sports. I decided at 15 I wanted to become a PE teacher and a football coach. So at the age of 15, I asked the football club, Ulverley Hawks, which I was playing for, if I could volunteer to coach the club their U7s team. I took that team for six years through the ages and then I got asked by Birmingham City FC Academy if I would be keen to join their coaching team. Working in the professional environment really was an eye-opener. I was very fortunate to work alongside some top coaches and work with some exciting young players who had bags of potential!
After qualifying as a physical education teacher from Newman University, I was set on travelling the world! My first destination was New Zealand. However, I fell in love with the country and came to terms with the fact that I would struggle to find a better country! I worked hard to create a full time coaching role at Greenhithe Football Club, and coached the Girls First XI at Rangitoto College. I then was offered to oversee the football programme at TGS which I have now been doing for the past eight years and I am now in my sixth year at North Shore United as the club’s Football Development Manager.
What are some highlights of your coaching career so far?
I have been very fortunate to have coached players back in England at the BCFC Academy who have gone on to compete on the world stage. Players such as Jude and his brother Jobe Bellingham of Real Madrid and Sunderland, and Bobby Clarke of Liverpool. But the main highlight for me is seeing the players who I have coached here on the North Shore grow and develop as not only better footballers but as better people! Every player who has played for the Boys First XI over the past eight years becomes part of the TGS Old Boys chat. We still keep in contact, with many of the ex-First XI players giving back their time to coach and support teams at both TGS and NSU.
What teams do you support and why? Who is your favourite player and why?
I support my boyhood club, West Bromwich Albion. However, I am starting to buy into the hype of the new Auckland FC team! So you may see me on the terraces, waving the Auckland FC flag next year! My favourite player is Xavi Hernandez. I admired him as a young player for his game intelligence. He played the game in the future, always knowing what to do before he received the ball.
Why would you recommend football for kids looking to begin the sport?
Football is a fantastic sport to get involved in. There is a reason why the sport is growing at such a fast pace here in NZ. It is a simple but exciting game and absolutely anyone can play it!
What are your hobbies outside of football?
I do still love to travel and any chance outside of the football season, my wife and I will get away to travel to a new exotic country.
Summer Carkeek is a coach for Under 10s at Takapuna Football, she lives in Torbay with her family and is in her last year of a bachelor’s degree studying sport and recreation management at AUT. She plays in the Hibiscus Coast women’s premier team alongside her coaching role with Takapuna. She talks about balancing coaching, playing
and studying.
What do you love about football?
Summer Carkeek: I love the friendships and connections you make through sport, especially in football.
What was your journey to becoming a coach? Explain how you got to your role.
Started off through doing my second year university placement at Takapuna with Daniel Semp and just continued on from there as more opportunities came up.
What are some highlights of your coaching career so far?
Seeing the progression of some of the players I started with moving up into the development team and continuing to improve and stand out.
What teams do you support and why? Who is your favourite player and why?
I support Liverpool because my dad encouraged us to support them and my favourite players are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Leah Williamson. Both players have had to face so much adversity and shown resilience to continue being the best.
Why would you recommend football for kids looking to begin the sport?
Create a lot of great friendships and helps to become a well-rounded person physically, mentally and socially.
What are your hobbies outside of football?
Outside of football, I also really enjoy surfing.
Keith Lesslie is an expat Scot who has lived in New Zealand for the best part of 20 years. He lives in Beach Haven (with his three football mad children and patient wife) and volunteers as a Football Coach at Birkenhead United Football Club, where he is the First Team Assistant Coach and the Skill Centre Lead for U9-12 players. Keith’s services to the club don’t go unnoticed. Head of Coaching, Dave Wright, describes Keith as a true volunteer hero in the community. “Under Keith’s watch over the last two years, Skill Centre has grown to include almost 200 players. Keith personifies a true club man, giving up his valuable time to support the development of junior and senior players at our club. Keith is close to completing his NZF B License and is a truly valued coach, member and role model at Birkenhead United,” explains Dave. Away from football, Keith is director of a protective coatings company called Cake Commercial Services.
What do you love about football?
Keith Lesslie: I’ve played competitive sport since I was five years old and with my 50th looming next year football has been a constant in my life ever since. In my opinion the competition and challenge that participating in any sport provides is an essential element in any person’s life. Being uncomfortable in situations produces resilience and sport will certainly provide that at times. As I’ve dedicated most of my time to a team sport I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of great people and many of my best friendships to this day have been forged through football. Being able perform as an individual within a team context is extremely powerful and is probably at the core of what human beings are all about by nature.
What was your journey to becoming a coach? Explain how you got to your role.
The start of my coaching journey coincided with a couple of things, firstly having children meant that the Club were looking for volunteers to look after the teams on a Saturday and my aging legs were not keeping up with my football thinking, so the natural progression was to become a coach. Those who can no longer do – teach! I probably started on that journey about seven or eight years ago and at the time Tony Readings was the Coach Development Officer at Birkenhead United and the Club enabled coaches to start progressing through the Advanced Coaching pathway set out by NZF. Tony was a pivotal figure in my coaching journey and encouraged me to push on with additional badges, and since Tony left for bigger and better things people like Paul Hobson, Dave Wright, Malcolm McPherson and Dane Cooke have all helped me along the way. The support and encouragement of these mentors has been invaluable and I’m looking forward to completing my B License in the near future. I am currently the BUAFC Men’s 1st team assistant and Skill Centre Lead where we look after a programme for 175 9-12 year old footballers.
What are some highlights of your coaching career so far?
There have been many highlights on the grass, when a kid learns how to do a Cruyff turn, or a six year old dribbles with the ball and beats a player for the first time; these small moments make it all worthwhile. Other highlights would be coaching the BUAFC U17s to the 2022 U17 National Title, and being involved with the 2023 U19s who also won the National title in Napier. I was also heavily involved in the transformation of our Skill Centre programme where we have taken participation numbers from being capped at 80 to over 175 this year. We have moved away from streamed teams and trial processes as this severely limits the number of players given access to an age appropriate curriculum that is 100% focused on development for all. This has been a challenge but I believe we are making good progress in this space. However, if I had to pick one highlight it would be watching kids I’ve coached since they were 13 make their 1st team debuts for BUAFC and playing without fear. To invest so much time in helping young people on their journey and to see them have some success is what it’s all about.
What teams do you support and why? Who is your favourite player and why?
I am a long suffering Scotland (I’m writing this from Munich), Dundee United and Liverpool fan so I certainly can’t be accused of being a glory hunter. However, these are the tribes I’ve inherited and will always be devoted to, win, lose or draw. Loyalty is something that I value immensely and being part of something bigger than yourself is also very rewarding, regardless of the outcome. My favourite player was Kenny Dalglish simply because he was 'The King'.
Why would you recommend football for kids looking to begin the sport?
Being part of a team or a tribe is something that is in the human psyche and I believe football is one of the simplest sports to help cultivate that in children. The sport is really simple to replicate and literally only requires some form of ball and jumpers for goalposts, and you’re playing the game. I think getting kids back to playing in the 'streets' is something that should be encouraged, and wherever possible allow them to set the rules and play the game themselves. Too much parental or adult involvement inevitable takes some of the pure innocence and joy out of the game
for kids.
What are your hobbies outside of football?
As I am coaching in one form or another four nights a week and all day Saturday I don’t have much time for other hobbies. I am a bit of a vinyl record enthusiast and actually own an online vinyl store, so that would be the nearest thing I have to a hobby.
Chris Millicich grew up in New Zealand and considers himself a very proud Kiwi. He is the Director of Football at Northern Rovers, a club with 1,600 members in Glenfield. He has two adult children and watching them build their lives is immensely exciting. Chris talks about the sport that he says has given him so much and the highlights of his coaching career.
What do you love about football?
Chris Milicich: Sport has given me so much and I treasure the friendships and connections with many people within sport, particularly in football. I have been fortunate to have been to many countries around the world with football, and especially in the FIFA World Cup bubbles you get to experience their cultures.
What was your journey to becoming a coach? Explain how you got to your role.
After a career-ending injury, I decided to coach, initially goalkeepers and then found myself at 30 being the head coach of a Northern League team. Over the last couple of decades I have been lucky enough to be the head coach at four FIFA World Cup events, as well as the delegation leader at another Club World Cup. I currently have an UEFA A coaching badge and am completing my Pro Licence. Each step along my journey has happened organically and roles were accepted that I saw as a challenge with growth potential for me as a coach.
What are some highlights of your coaching career so far?
The key highlight for me has been the number of players I have coached that have gone on to be professional footballers. Seeing the young men and women go on to become better players and people is the major highlight. Winning and losing grand finals, league titles, Oceania titles and going to World Cups are highlights, but doing it with great people is far more rewarding that the titles. Winning and losing are separated by such fine margins and if you get the right people, processes and culture in place, then winning will occur so enjoy the journey not the outcome.
What teams do you support and why? Who is your favourite player and why?
Growing up, I was a fan of Real Madrid for no other reason than my uncle came back from a European holiday and gave me a team shirt. I've been a fan ever since. My favourite player of all time is Diego Maradona, as what he could do on a football field on the biggest stage was so impactful on the sport. Watching him was realising how far above he was to all his peers, and knowing he was flawed but excelled was mesmerising.
Why would you recommend football for kids looking to begin the sport?
Football teaches young people so many skills for life. You need to learn teamwork, balance, coordination, lateral movement, jumping, kicking, ball control, running, integration with units, spatial awareness, vision and 360 degree decision making. All aspects of football can easily transfer to any other sport, but is difficult for any other sport to prepare someone to play football due to the high expertise required by the feet. There is a saying that 'sport builds character'. I differ to that and change it to 'sport exposes character'. Once exposed you can work to change it but knowing your character is the start of life changing experiences.
What are your hobbies outside of football?
I really enjoy playing golf when I can and watching my children in their sporting lives.
