Academy

Our centre of excellence to develop our talent to be

Great Players. Better People.

Excellence.

This is what the Academy has been created for and why we have partnered with GOAL FOOTBALL ACADEMY.

To give our local Rotorua youth who desire it to develop excellence. Excellence of skill, decision making, understanding and creativity on the football pitch giving them the chance to perform at the same level as their peers from larger cities.

Excellence in real true character - to understand how it can drive them to be happy and successful people long-term.

Excellence in health - how to get and remain strong and fast and healthy.

And to simply excel while having fun doing something they love.

We do this through 2 structures:

The ACADEMY and SKILLS HUB

The Academy

Nurturing excellence to create the next stars

Our Academy is proudly provided by Goal Football Academy in conjunction with Lakes FC.

This is a programme centered around improving the technical, tactical, mental, physical and social areas of each player. Attention is also given to the individual, identifying who they are now and what their strengths are, then enhancing these to take them where they want to go in the future, wherever that may be. The type of player involved in our Academy is already hungry to succeed. Our goal is to feed that hunger whilst developing the right attributes that will see them succeed in football and more importantly in the wider world. 

Players are exposed to our specialised training methods, delivered and supported by video analysis and feedback. Trainings are a minimum of two per week, allowinf greated development across the season.

Our Academy teams play across the WaiBOP Federation in our Y- League. The teams are selected through I.D. Sessions in February and then enter the academy to train for the year.

Trainings will commence following selection, through to October/November - depending when the tournaments are.

The programme is designed to get the best out of each player, helping them become the player they dream of.

2027 Season

I.D. Sessions Dates

Our 2027 player I.D. Sessions will be running in February 2027. Please save the date, and we will open registration later in the year.

The six sessions will run over three weeks:

  • Tuesday 9 February

  • Thursday 11 February

  • Tuesday 16 February

  • Thursday 18 February

  • Tuesday 23 February

  • Thursday 25 February

Following these identification sessions, selected players will be placed into either a team based on where the coaches believe they will best develop.

Skills Hub

Developing talent the Lakes FC way…

For any young footballer wanting to take their game up a notch. Skills Hub sessions prioritise fun and having a go while growing individual skills and overall game awareness and tactical movement.

These skill acquisition sessions run once a week, teaching Lakes FC principles, decision making, and creativity alongside the core skills needed to play, in a fun learning environment.

2027 information coming soon.

Click here to register

FAQs

  • At LAKES FC we want to provide more for our amazing tamariki and rangatahi. This means having programmes for each individual, no matter the reason they play football. Some play purely for social reasons, or for the friendship group and bonds with teammates, some because they love competition, some because they absolutely love the game. For some of our club members it is just a fun sport to play on the weekend. For others it is a dream to play at the highest level and/or become the best they can. ‍ ‍

    As a club, we aim to provide pathways for our players so that they can play the game at the level that they desire. ‍ ‍

    The academy is a way to help aspirational players reach their dreams in football and life – educating players and aiding them to take the next steps in football and/or using it as a vehicle to take them where they want in life.

    Along with the academy, we strive to have a thriving community / grassroots space where teams love playing football in a fun, encouraging environment.

    ‍

  • The Academy is for our Y league and J league teams. Players are selected through trials and become part of the academy once selected into one of these teams. They train 2/3 times per week.

    The Skills Hub is once-per-week private, trainings using the same principles and processes from our academy trainings and NZF.

    The Skills Hub is for children too young, or playing outside the Y league and J league space, who want to improve their game outside of their team trainings.

  • No, not all. We welcome players from any club to come and have fun training with us.

  • The Skill Hub trains at Western Heights Primary School on Clayton Rd. This gives us an all-weather turf when it is raining, screens for videos, and a full field too.

    The Academy trains in several places. We will use Western Heights Primary School for certain trainings, and individual coaches will hold trainings in other locations too.

  • These teams are selected through Identification sessions during February. Players will be notified soon after and offered a place in the academy as part of those teams.

  • 2027 Academy fees will be confirmed soon.

  • For us, it is all about the children being able to enjoy playing at the level they desire, so if you are struggling to pay for any reason, just get in touch. We are super flexible and will find a way to make it work for you and your child so that they can play in any of our programmes. We can sort part part payments, AP’s, or work out something bespoke. We have sponsorship opportunities to reduce costs and a number of ways to fundraise as well. We love breaking down these sort of barriers so please don’t hesitate to get in contact should you need.

  • We want every young footballer at Lakes FC to have the opportunity to reach their potential, and we work hard to keep the cost of our programmes as affordable as possible. The Academy is a specialised, year-long development programme, designed for players who want to challenge themselves, improve their game and take the next step in football.

    The fee helps cover the expertise, planning and resources needed to deliver this level of development. This includes qualified coaches, individual player development, feedback and video analysis. It also contributes towards the relevant football association and club fees.

    Just as importantly, our focus is on developing the whole person, not just the player. We want our young people to grow in confidence, decision-making, teamwork and resilience, both on and off the pitch.

    Our aim is to provide a high-quality development opportunity for local players that might otherwise be difficult to access outside the larger centres.

    We don't want cost to be a barrier to a young person's development. If the fee is difficult for your family, please get in touch. We can discuss payment plans, automatic payments, sponsorship opportunities or fundraising options to help make participation possible.

    Our goal is simple: to help our players become great footballers and better people, while making the Academy as accessible as we can.