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.

In 2023 we are taking the next step to build towards where we want to be in the future which is to have:

1. A thriving community/grassroots space where oodles of teams love playing football in a fun, encouraging environment.

2. A national-class academy 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.

Balancing these is not easy as they are at quite opposite ends of the sporting spectrum. In the creation of the new programmes we have done our best to balance the needs of everyone within the club because, as we say, “every person matters.”

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 trainings using the same principles and processes from our academy trainings and NZF, and are 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.

At this stage the Skill Centres will train at Western Heights Primary on Clayton Rd. This gives us all-weather turfs when it is raining, screens for videos, and a full field too.

The Academy will train in several places. We will use Western Heights Primary School for certain trainings, and individual coaches will hold trainings in other locations too. We will advise as soon as everything is sorted with the council.

Once we have our own fields and clubhouse we will relocate there. Hopefully soon!

The academy is for our Y league and J league teams that play at Federation level. 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.

Players outside of these teams who may have just missed selection, may be invited to also attend the academy.

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 know that times are tough financially and our aim is to always keep costs as low as possible to look after our club members, giving them value in sport for what we believe should essentially be free. That is why we have tried to provide many options to suit everyone as much as possible.

It must be noted, however, that providing high-level coaching is not cheap, and there is not one organisation in the country that is able to provide these higher level programmes for free. Coaches need to hold certain (expensive!) accreditations and are tasked with completing courses each year to retain them. In order to train at the highest level we need to create individual plans for each player and have rigorous feedback loops. There is also a lot of time needed to plan and carry out team trainings that take into consideration the individual needs of each child, not just in football but holistically, in the social, mental, and physical spheres. Hosting expert workshops and seminars is also not always cheap. We have to pay for strength and conditioning experts to help us, and the WaiBOP, New Zealand Football and Club fees also form part of the overall cost. We want to give our aspirational players the chance to compete on the regional and national stage, creating an even playing field with our better resourced cousins in the larger centres. In comparison to what our friends in other centres pay, our fees are cheap and we aim to try and keep them as cheap as possible while still providing the highest standard of training. When broken down, the cost comes to less than $7 per training, something that we believe is actually incredible value.

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