Happy Holidays! Ole Football Academy Nov – Dec Newsletter

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Stop! Please read this newsletter with your Young Ole Player.

Ole Football Academy

Celebrating 20 Years
Developing The New Zealand Footballer
1997 – 2017

After the NZ team’s experience in the 1997 U17 World Cup in Egypt, a group of business and passionate football people saw a real need to put in place here in NZ, a football specific facility that boys and girls could come to and be trained in, an environment that was not compromised by other sports or by their background. Where children come from is not their choice and they should not be disadvantaged… and so the Ole Soccer Academy (as it was called initially) began.

During the following few years we visited many football academies around the world to discover how football focussed countries developed their players. The aim of Ole has always been to provide a top learning environment with a holistic approach to giving children a pathway to achieve their dreams through football. Our numbers are increasing every year and after 20 years of operation, as founding chairman nothing gives me more pleasure than to see the excitement on the young faces as they rush down to their trainings.

We have come a long way from having to get rid of rabbits on the pitch and call the local fire brigade to water our grass so we could hold training sessions, to now playing on a football specific FIFA #1 pitch which I know is the envy of other football communities.

The positive feedback that I continue to receive about our young Ole members, from school teachers, college principals and senior members of the community, confirms the trust that parents put in our team of coaches at Ole to be a part of helping to educate their kids to respect their own bodies and learn how to set their own goals in life.

I know that it not easy financially for a great number of parents but please take the time to congratulate yourselves in helping your kids to have the best opportunities in life to succeed.

When our current Children’s Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft was Principal Youth Court Judge, he was quoted as saying.” In the many years I have presided on the court bench I have never had to lock up a child who plays competitive sport.” I often repeat those words.

My only hope is that over the next 20 years Ole will continue to grow and produce many more top footballers who, more importantly, also become great citizens in our community,

Dave Wilson
Chairman Ole Football Academy

Photo courtesy of Cameron McIntosh @photomac

What a fantastic 2017 it has been at Ole Football Academy. Central League Champions. Wellington World Cup qualifiers. Club World Cups. More children than ever playing the beautiful game in Porirua.

20 years in the books. Now onto the news!

Ole FA & The Club World Cup Harrison Moss – Edge and Callum McCowatt were recently selected for the Auckland City F.C. squad that attended the Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, with Owen Parker Price just missing out on the squad due to a broken foot. The NZ side fell one goal short against UAE Champions Al Jazira. By all accounts, even Al Jazira’s Head Coach, ACFC were unlucky not to come out on top. Al Jazira progressed to the semi-finals of the competition where at one point they led 1 – 0 against Spanish giants Real Madrid that is before Christiano Ronaldo (53′) and Gareth Bale (81′) decided to spoil the party!

Speaking of Real Madrid… “He is one of the top players in the Eredivisie, in everything, he has had a long time struggling to keep up physically, but he is now at the top and I would not be surprised if he landed at Real Madrid. ” – Ron Jans on Ole FA’s Ryan Thomas.

Thomas was the standout player for the All – Whites in New Zealand’s World Cup qualifier series against Peru and is currently one of the top ranked playersin the Eredevisie. A documentary has recently been released in Holland tracing Ryan’s development from Te Puke, New Zealand – Ole Football Academy – Eredevisie 1st Team. Be sure to watch it!

World Renowned Coach Educator To New Zealand TOVO Academy’s (Barcelona) Todd Beane will be arriving in Porirua, New Zealand in just under a month! New Zealand football coaches be sure not to miss this once in a lifetime educational opportunity on “rethinking and redesigning youth football development.” Course registration remains open with spaces closing fast!

Ole F.A. Making National Headlines “With the track record that Declan’s had over a number of years now, his focus on developing young players, and taking time to actually develop them, and the brand of football that he promotes, New Zealand Football need to find a way, sooner rather than later, of getting Wests, Ole, whatever we want to call it – Declan’s environment – into the national league… You know that he will promote and play young New Zealand players, and play a type of football that we need to be focusing on.” – Danny Hay (Former New Zealand U17 National Team Head Coach) Read full story.

2018 Summer Programme Openings Olé Football Academy is recruiting boys and girls born 2005 – 2008 to join us for the remainder of the Summer Programme. The Summer Programme is club unaffiliated and is open to players from all clubs in the Wellington region. The programme resumes on January 20 – 21 and concludes on February 18, 2018. For more information regarding registration details please email [email protected]

Footballer – Human – Scholar Congratulations to one of Ole FA’s most favourite people of all time, Sasha Sneyd. If you’ve not seen Sasha play football, he’s got the heart of a lion. He’s got brains too! Sasha recently received the prestigious Rutherford Scholarship, which will fully-fund his PhD research along with stipend and travel expenses at Cambridge University.
First Friday Family Football Feeds Thank you to those that attended December’s First Ever Friday Family Football Feed! The food sure was tasty. Healthy too! The next feed is scheduled for Friday, February 2nd.Save the date and invite all your family and friends! If you are interested in lending a hand in meal preparation, event coordination or helping build the Ole F.A. community please email [email protected]
Goodbye Calle Vredin – Welcome Mark Atkinson January 2018 will see the departure of Young Ole trainer and UEFA A qualified, Calle Vredin. Calle has been offered the Youth Technical Director position at Ostersunds FK. Ostersunds faces Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in the next round of Europa League, so the Swede has a big task on his hands! We cannot thank Calle enough for his efforts. He certainly is Leaving Ole Better Than He Found It (LiBTYFi). Congratulations Calle on your new incredible opportunity!Replacing Calle is former All – White and South Auckland Elite Technical Director, Mark Atkinson. “We could not be more excited to bring Mark and his family down from Auckland. Over the past five years, Mark has helped grow South Auckland Elite from 25 – 150 players through “The Ole Way” business model and player development philosophy. Mark understands our training methodologies and principles better than anyone. He will surely add a great dimension to our staff with his knowledge, leadership and experience within the New Zealand football landscape.” – Declan Edge (Ole F.A. Technical Director)

Become An Ole FA Sponsor In 2018 If your company is interested in sponsoring the Ole Football Academy in 2018 please contact [email protected]. We are currently seeking 2018 kit sponsors for Young Ole, Young Ole 1, Young Ole 2, Young Ole 3 and Skill Builders programmes! That’s over 250 kiddos in jerseys and jumpers running around pitches, playing beautiful football in Wellington every weekend of the club football season.
Give The Gift Of Football In 2018 And Host Families Ole F.A. is currently accepting philanthropic donations to support Young Ole families in need of financial assistance in 2018. For more details regarding the donation process please email [email protected].Ole F.A. is seeking two more host families for 2018! If you are interested in inviting a Young Ole Academy player into your home in the new year please email [email protected] for details.
Happy holidays from the team at Ole FA!
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