Youth football – United, they stand

Becoming a professional footballer may be just a dream for many, but the right skills well fostered can ensure young locals achieve their sporting goals however lofty.

As director of football at Franklin United, Bradley Rea has been focused on developing youth programmes for members of the Pukekohe, Tuakau and Drury football clubs.

“Players who want to take that next step will find help at Franklin United,” he says. “We have eight junior/youth teams from under-10s to under-17s. Obviously, they all train, but there’s a lot more that can be done to prepare them to play at a higher level. My goal is to create new opportunities and more pathways for them.”

The programmes are intended to help identify talent but they’re not just for the top tier of young sportspeople.

“It’s all about player development, not necessarily picking the best players, and finding the kids who really want to pursue football and learn, develop, enjoy it and take their game to the next level as well,” Rea explains.

“Anybody and everybody can join beginning with a nine-week programme, which we consider the stage one of our player pathways. Following that, we have our skill centre providing players with an extra training each week run by academy coaches.”

A relatively new addition involves training players at schools.

“We had two schools [Pukekohe Hill and Valley schools] on board last year with more than 100 kids attending. We went there at lunchtime, just do some skill work with them. We’re now looking to extend it to other schools in the area.”

Originally from England, Rea’s family moved to Waikato when he was eight years old. He progressed in his sport with the help of a football academy in Australia.

“From a young age, I was able to see what professional football environments were like over in England. Injury ended my playing days, but I’ve spent the last 10 years working with the RH3 Football Academy,” he says.

“Coming to Franklin, my role has been to work with what the club had in place as well as offering some fresh ideas based on my experience.”

Run by former All Whites coach, Ricki Herbert, RH3 also assists young players in reaching their potential.

“The academy runs holiday programmes in the Franklin area and some players then have the opportunity to go on to RH3’s national camp. From there, they may go on domestic and even international tours. We already have some of our players going to the USA with Ricki’s teams as well as others going to Portugal, England and Australia.”

One of Franklin United’s prodigies is nine-year-old Billy Leaver from Pukekohe East Primary School. He will be representing New Zealand at the Under-10 Youth World Challenge Cup in New York.

Although these youngsters benefit from the academy’s support, giving a little can help them go a long way – to assist, contact Franklin United.

Whether they’re intent on winning the World Cup with the All Whites – we have faith! – or just to learn the value of sportsmanship, fitness and teamwork, Rea’s charges will never walk alone.

“Yes, I’m a big Liverpool [FC] fan with a tattoo to prove it,” he says. “But these programmes aren’t about developing elite professionals, they’re about creating more opportunities for young players to grow. If we don’t give them that chance at our level, who knows how good they could’ve been?”