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For one of the first Bunnings Coaching Legends, it’s a serious love of the game that has kept him on the ball.
Pukekohe AFC’s Jeff Andrews is one of 25 volunteer coaches nationwide recognised during the programme’s first month. The new initiative is intended to celebrate everyday champions of community sport.
“When [the award] came through, I was a bit surprised and also humbled by it,” he told the Times. “Football’s my passion. I even have a sign in my man cave that sums it up nicely – ‘Warning, life is a game, football is serious.’”
However, the game is also about instilling values that benefit youngsters in many ways, he confirms.
“I believe everything kids learn through sport can help them in life. The wins, the losses, the bumps and setbacks. It’s about resilience, teamwork and learning how to keep going,” he says. “If you can help young people develop those skills early on then they’ll carry them with them long after the final whistle.”
Although Andrews received the Coaching Legend title, his young charges also benefited thanks to an exclusive coaching clinic delivered by All Whites defender Francis De Vries.
“He ran a session and gave them some new insights on different things that I haven’t touched on in training, which was good, especially as it was coming from a professional,” Andrews says.
“The kids absolutely loved it, they thought it was awesome. They’re pretty good already, but I’ve definitely noticed an uplift in the team at training since then.”
He’s no rookie, but Andrews says he also learnt a thing or two – he still straps on his boots playing for Pukekohe in the senior grade.
Andrews currently coaches two teams at Pukekohe AFC, each featuring one of his sons, but his involvement with coaching stretches back much further, approximately 20 years.
“I actually started at Fencibles United out in east Auckland due to a friend I played football with. His son’s team didn’t have a coach, so he’d stepped in and I gave him a hand. That’s where coaching began for me, when I was 18 or so. That was long before I had kids of my own.”
To nominate a volunteer coach making a difference in our community, visit bunnings.co.nz and search ‘Coaching Legends.’
