After taking a tentative step into Matamata during term 4 of last year, the Waikato Football Academy (WFA) has scheduled a full year football development programme for 2018.
Sign up for the Term 2 WFA programme here.
- Venue: Matamata Domain.
- Cost: $120 + training kit.
- Day & time: Tuesdays from May 1, with sessions running from 4pm to 5.15pm.
- The programme is open to girls and boys aged from 7 to 12 years of age.
- Further blocks will run through terms 3 & 4.
- For more information and to register you should visit: waikatofootballacademy.com or contact Alastair on 021 471 021.
Locally based head coach Alastair Sievewright will oversee the programme, which has the full support of Matamata Swifts AFC. “I’m looking forward to working with young footballers and other sports people from the wider Matamata-Piako area over the course of the year and helping them develop their skills,” said Sievewright. “We had an enthusiastic group at the end of 2017. I’m hoping we can build on that as the children prepare for the winter sports season then compliment their regular training during the season.”
Matamata Swifts President, Dwayne Barlow, is pleased to have the WFA programme scheduled in the calendar this year. “It’s great to have someone like Alastair living locally to provide the sort of development opportunity we have struggled to offer in the past. On a personal level I’ll have two boys who’ll be involved boots and all, and I hope plenty of other children, not only from Matamata but the wider Matamata-Piako and South Waikato area, give this a serious look.
“One big opportunity I see here is for children involved in other winter sports on Saturday mornings. It means they can train during the week and also play games on the occasional Sunday against WFA teams from Hamilton and, potentially, other teams from further afield via the WFA network. Football offers a great cross training opportunity that will help children in their specialist sport.”
About Waikato Football Academy
Waikato Football Academy (WFA) started eight years ago, under the stewardship of ex-All White Mark Cossey, and currently runs a successful junior programme for 7-14 year olds on site at St Paul’s Collegiate School in Hamilton. WFA has proudly seen many of their junior players progress from the Academy to being selected for WaiBOP Rep programmes and has consistently run programmes for youth, originally during their affiliation with Hamilton Wanderers FC, allowing these players to play in the Federation Youth Leagues.
The Waikato Football Academy team brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from great coaching, mentoring and academy management. The goal of WFA is to develop the skills of these players which could lead to opportunities overseas. WFA has had players under their coaching achieve these goals – they assisted James Davies and Dominic Edwards in their trials and subsequent contracts with Torquay Academy and Henry Crayton with his university scholarship in America.
During the past decade of coaching Hamilton Wanderers FC Premier League, Mark has had a hand in coaching and developing players such as Chris Wood, Marco Rojas, Michael Built, Matt Gibbons and Elliot Collier who have gone further and achieved their goals of obtaining professional contracts and/or scholarships. More recently Mark has been humbled with the achievement of Logan Rogerson gaining successes with Wellington Phoenix and All Whites.
The Waikato Football Academy will continue to use contacts in Europe, NZ and further abroad to create opportunities for future players.