Ex-Selwyn United junior and youth player Finn Surman signed his first professional deal with the Wellington Phoenix on 15th February 2022 and since has been full on trying to break into the senior team on a consistent basis. We were lucky enough to catch up with him and talk about his journey through Selwyn United including the Selwyn Talent Centre, into the Stallions for a brief appearance and then on to the Wellington Phoenix Academy.

‘I started playing football properly when I was 10 years old, starting at Selwyn United,’ said Finn. ‘Selwyn not only gave me the opportunity to play football, but it also allowed me to make great friendships and the club's focus was always on making me a good person. Martin Allen was my first coach, and he was the one who helped me believe in myself which was important to me’.

Selwyn United’s Director of Football, Chris Brown recounts his first contacts with Finn aged 10 ‘I first coached Finn when he was in the Skill Centre when I first arrived in NZ in 2013. He was the same quiet, humble boy he is now and just got on with his training, working hard to get better!’

Finn recounted his journey through the club, especially focusing on the support he had from the coaches ‘Being the team that was on the outside of Christchurch, it meant we sometimes struggled to win all our games and to be selected for things that other Christchurch players did. The coaches always pointed out that winning and selection for things weren’t important at that age, it was about learning and loving football!’

The focus on individual development as opposed to teams winning is a big point of difference for the Selwyn United program and something Chris Brown was proud of. ‘Finn is a great example of how we develop players as individuals, but he is definitely not the only one. Our program has always been and will always be about the growth of an individual within the environment and what is right for them as well as making it as fun as possible which is the main goal! We also understand that although some players will want to strive to emulate Finn, others will have different pathways and we support everyone the best way we can’.

Chris put an emphasis on the change in the region, but Selwyn United’s focus is the same ‘When we started the program, we were the only real club-based program because of the centralised FTC. Now every club has a program of sorts and that brings with it different challenges, such as players from the Selwyn district looking into Christchurch for development opportunities hearing other clubs are running elite programs. What we promise here at Selwyn United is simple, a program that puts the individual at the forefront of everything we do and to prepare them as best as we can for the pathway that they desire to follow’.

Finn finished the conversation with a big thanks to everyone at Selwyn United, ‘I cannot thank Lee (Padmore), Chris (Brown), Martin (Allen) enough. They taught me to love the game and were much more than coaches to me and are still mentors to me now even though I left the club in 2018. Selwyn United is a great club and I want to say thank you for allowing me to love my football growing up!’

Selwyn United’s Talent Centre runs out of Foster Park, offering Futsal contacts, all training under lights and with the new artificial turf coming on board in April, you would be hard pushed to find a better facility in the country.

If you are interested in Selwyn Skill Centre (1-2 extra sessions a week for players of any ability) or Selwyn Talent Centre, please contact Chris Brown – dof@sufc.nz.

ENDS