Scott
Scott has immersed himself inside the football world since the age of five when he first caught football fever. Scott has played, coached and refereed at all levels from first kicks through to senior football.
He began his football journey in the biggest club in Australasia at the time East Coast Bays, which had over 1,000 junior boys playing. (no girls’ teams in those days). Scott won the Auckland U18 league with East Coast Bays before moving to North Shore. Scott played over 100 Northern League games and over 100 Southern League games in Auckland, Christchurch, Tokoroa, and Northland. During this time he coached junior football as well as school teams. He undertook his first senior coaching course in Northland, and his early coaching career culminated in a two-year stint at Whangarei FC where in the first year he coached the senior women’s team who finished first equal in the Northern Federation Premier League and runner-up in the Federation knock-out competition. Scott was also player-coach in the men’s reserve development team which won the Northland Premier Division. In the second year his women’s team came third in the Federation Premier league and won the Federation knock-out competition. Scott also coached a very youthful men’s team to third place in the Northern Federation Premier League.
When Scott started his family in Christchurch he couldn’t commit to structured trainings so instead took up refereeing and within one year was refereeing at a senior level. Once his daughters reached age four Scott re-entered the coaching environment with first kicks football. Scott and his family moved to Rotorua in 2016 and has been coaching an all-girls Ngongotaha team that has developed into the Waiariki youth girls team. Scott has undertaken the NZF Junior Level Three Coaching course as well as the OFC C License.
Scott has also undertaken post graduate courses in Advanced Athlete Physiology and Sports Psychology. Having coached players of all ages and abilities, Scott says he enjoys coaching younger players the most as he “loves the look on their faces when they learn a new skill for the first time. It is amazing to see players develop more than they thought possible, and become more confident individuals at the same time”.
Ben
Ben was that kid that was crazy about football. He spent most break times playing at school, would walk to local newsagent to pick up a copy of Shoot! magazine to read about the game, and then catch every Premier league game on TV1 on a Sunday morning. As he moved to a high school without a football team, but where rugby was a religion, he was pulled away from the game for a number of years.
Completing a Master of Business in Sports Marketing and Management and a BCom at Otago University kept him in the sports industry, working with the Tall Blacks, NBL franchises and multi-sport events. Drawn to helping kids, Ben then trained to be a teacher, and worked his way to being Assistant Principal and a primary school PE teacher where he has been able to coach a number of sports and refine how he works with, motivates and inspires young sportspeople.
Ben rediscovered and reignited his passion for football as his first son started to play. Since then it has kind of taken over his life!
He has sat the NZF Junior Level 1, 2, and 3 and OFC C License courses in New Zealand as well completing TOVO and APFC courses from Spain. He has undertaken the FIFA Grassroots course, was a WaiBOP finalist for Junior Football Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019, winning WaiBOP Coach of the Year in 2022.
He is also a 7 Habits of Effective People/Leader in Me Certified Trainer, having trained numerous teachers and ancillary staff over the past few years to adopt habits that are life changing.
Ben spends much of his time (way too much his wife would say!) researching and learning about the latest football and coaching trends. When he gets a chance he also loves basketball, cricket… actually most other sports… 80’s music and films, and getting the words wrong to most songs.
“The key is not the will to win. Everybody
has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.”
—Bobby Knight