A message for all our Old Boy Footballers...

Dear Football Old Boys and Friends

We hope that as a past 1st XI Football player or Football Supporter you may like to become a supporter of your old school team…

In these times we recognise at school that our top sportsmen have huge commitments and sometimes their families are not able to financially back their boys, this sometimes means some of our most talented athletes don’t get out on the field. This fund is designed to help the team and the families of the boys in the team.

At the end of 2020 Mr. Dawson and Mr. Liddicoat retired from the 1st XI Football Management/Coaching team but they have left a legacy for the new staff involved:

Coaches:

William Hodge, also head of Football at PNBHS

Jamie Watson

Scott Coleman

Manager:

Hayden Macdonald

A word from our Head of Football and 1st XI Football Coach: Willie Hodge.

My name is William Hodge and I am the Teacher in charge of Football at the school and 1st XI Footbal Coach. I was a 1st XI player from 2003 to 2005. We were a formidable side for anyone to play and we went into every national tournament as a side that other teams feared. We won the Super 8 schools competition in each of the 5 years that I was at school and finished 2nd in the country in 2005. The school last won the national tournament in 2010 and we are one of only three schools outside of Auckland to have won the tournament. Unfortunately, the prestige of the school’s football programme has been on the decline and this has been made clear in recent results at the Premier National Tournament. There are a number of reasons for why, in my opinion, this has happened:

• Lack of quality coaching to develop players

• Poor facilities for training

• A lack of a clear plan for player development

• A lack of identity or philosophy in how we want our players and teams to develop.

We were fortunate to have had the coaching expertise of the late Steve Burnley, who coached the 1st XI to three national championships. Without coaching of his calibre, football at the school has declined and performances have been poor. One of the biggest reasons for this has been the loss of a number of our most promising players to the Phoenix Academy and the Ole Academy in Wellington. This has included 6 of our top students over the past 6 years. Joining these academies are an excellent opportunity for those students. However, we believe that we should be capable of offering a football programme which can cater for the continued development of our elite players. We are trying to make a big push to ensure that we are offering our aspiring footballers a quality football programme that is in keeping with what other top performing schools are offering.

What are we doing to improve what we offer our elite footballers?

• Expert coaching offered

• We are using Hudl Assist, a software developed by an American company. The intention of investing in Hudl is to analyse games to improve the team performance

tactically and to allow for a more targeted individual player development programme to be implemented.

• We have also been utilising the new turf facility at the Central Energy Trust Arena. This facility is used by our teams for practices for at least 8 hours a week and we will also look to hold many of our key interschool games here. We have found that many teams around the country are now using turfs for training and games and this has raised the standard of these teams, especially the speed at which those teams can move the ball. So far, the use of the turf for practices has received very positive feedback from our stakeholders.

• We are also developing a PNBHS Methodology of Football. This includes player profiles that clearly define the key attributes that a player in each position should have. This is to be used as an educational tool for our coaches so that they can place students into positions that they can excel at. It will also be used as an educational tool for students to improve their own game. The methodology also includes a philosophy that defines the way in which we want our young players to develop and the tactical and technical approach that we would like our coaches to follow (however, leaving flexibility for individual coaches to add their own flavour and experiences to their coaching).

• I have also reached out to Central Football to ensure that we are taking advantage of our good quality coaches within the Manawatu. As such, we currently have 6 Manawatu Rep coaches taking teams ranging from the Junior B team to our 2nd XI, with an additional two coaches already signed on for the 2021 season.

• Finally, we are making a strong push to improve the marketing of our PNBHS Football Programme. We have brought on sponsors for the first time in two decades in order to help finance the new initiatives we are undertaking. We have also began to market our football programme on social media to promote our top footballers. This will include uploading video footage and highlights of the 1st XI games, which we hope will generate more interest for people to follow the 1st XI Football team.

In 2020 the 1st XI placed as follows in their competitions:

3rd place finish in the Horizons Western Premier Senior Men’s Competition

4th Place at the Super 8 Tournament

Lotto Premier National Tournament did not take place due to Covid.

The Football Supporters Club has been created for Old Boys and Friends of the school to help support PNBHS Football programmes with the goal to be one of the best football schools in the country.

The football supporters club funds will be used to assist with quality coaching and technological resources, additional equipment, travel and other costs associated with running the school’s 1st XI and Football Development Programmes.

We would love you to become a football supporter, if you would like to help out your old team please make an annual donation of $100.00 to the school by electronic banking.

Account Name: Supporters Account

Account Number: 01-0745-0025368-02

Please reference your name and Football.

All Supporters receive our 1st XI Football Beanie.

If you have any questions please email me or give me a call, I will be the point of contact and the one sending out team updates.

Thanks you so much in anticipation please forward this onto any friends and past 1st XI members who you think might join this club.

Photos below of Mr. Adrian Elrick (1964-1967) 91 caps for the All Whites, giving the 1st XI Football and Sport Development boys a few tips on how to play successful Football. 

Kind Regards

Rachel

Rachel Wenham
Community Relations / Old Boys, Palmerston North Boys' High School

Developing Educated Men of Outstanding Character
Hai Whakapakari i Ngā Tamatāne Kia Purapura Tuawhiti

+64 6 3545176 Ext: 735 /+64 27 4423285/ wenhamr@pnbhs.school.nz

www.pnbhs.school.nz | stratus.pnbhs.school.nz

PO Box 4049, 263 Featherston Street, Palmerston North, 4442. NZ