- 04 February, 2021
Taupō traditionally enters a representative Grade 12 and Grade 13 Team into the WaiBOP Federation J & Y leagues. These are competitive leagues played against the top teams from other WaiBOP clubs. The club invites Expressions of Interest for all eligible players in Grade 12 (J-League) in the hope of Taupō AFC being represented. We also need coaches for this team.
Who is eligible: Girls and boys born in 2009 (Grade 12) and girls born in 2008 (Grade 13).
When are the games: It depends on whether we enter the Waikato or Bay of Plenty league – the choice is ours (we are similarly close to both). The BoP league plays on Saturdays; Waikato play on Sundays. There are 17 rounds starting 11 April and concluding on 4 / 5 September.
Where are the games: Every second game (on average) would be played in Taupō (home games), with away games (in the BoP league mostly in Tauranga, and potentially also in Rotorua, Whakatāne or any other BoP location); and Waikato league away games played mostly in Hamilton, and likely also Cambridge. Travel to away games is not provided by the club.
How many players do we need: We need a full squad of 14 players (games are 9 a-side).
Who are the coaches? We don’t yet have any coaches for this team. We urgently need to identify a head coach and at least one assistant coach. The head coach needs to commit to attending the NZF Junior Level 2 course in Matamata on a Sunday 9am – 5pm. I’ve asked WaiBOP to confirm the date of this course – their website states it is on 11 April, which would clash with the start of the season for this league so can’t be correct! We would also strongly encourage the assistant coach(es) to attend the Junior Level 1 course, which we are hoping to run in Taupō. If you are interested in being involved and would like to find out more about it, please contact us on juniors@taupofootball.org.nz.
When / how will the team be selected. We need to have our team finalised by 19 March. We would anticipate trials would be run in early March, assuming coaches have first been identified.
When are the practices? The team would be expected to train twice per week. The day and time of the practices will be at the discretion of the coaches.
What do we do now? Please send an Expression of Interest if your player is likely to be interested in trialling for this team by emailing juniors@taupofootball.org.nz by the end of February. Please include:
- Name and date-of-birth of your player.
- Whether you are available to play in either the Saturday league, the Sunday league, or either.
- Whether you can potentially assist with coaching or managing the team. If we have enough interested players, and a head coach and at least 1 assistant coach, then we will proceed with trials for this team. If not, then we won’t proceed any further in placing a team in this competition.
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