Personal Statement
I want to go as far as I can with my soccer as well as a tertiary education at a US College in Kinesiology/Sports Science combined with Psychology.
I'm different to other athletes because I have a diverse and successful background in many sports including competitive gymnastics, field hockey, basketball, tennis, golf, surfing, futsal and, of course, soccer. This mix of sport has been an ideal framework on my pathway to identifying that I wish to focus on one sport - soccer and that I wished to specialise as a goalkeeper after 7 years as an outfield player.
My point of difference is the range of skills and variation of alternative movement and coordination that I have gained from playing all these other sports has been extremely advantageous to perform highly as a goalkeeper. They've given me a skill base to execute the dynamic movements to be the best I can be.
My great fortune is to come under the eye of a New Zealand representative goalkeeper who went to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa - James Bannatyne - and who invited me into his academy, INGOAL. Since then, James also now employs me as a goalkeeping coach, to train and develop 9-16 year olds year round in his academy, and travel with him to assist and lead sessions on INGOAL Academy holiday programmes in different parts of New Zealand.
I'm different to many other athletes in delaying my choice to specialise in one sport. It means that my passion for soccer is extremely high and grows week by week, training session by training session, game by game. My desire to continue learning about this sport and my position, to be the best I can be, is relentless.
I am also fortunate to have started playing in the leading men's soccer league in my region, the WaiBOP Federation at age 15 for Papamoa FC. At age 16-17 I played for Cambridge FC who compete in the NRFL Division 2 Semi professional league. The likes of 'Chris Wood' has gone through the Cambridge FC football academy developing him into a fantastic Striker for Nottingham Forest. I am Now at age 18 am the starting #1 GoalKeeper for a Semi-Professional team 'Ngaruawahia FC'. Ngaruawahia FC play in the NRFL Division 1 which is one of the highest divisions in New Zealand. I have gotten the privilege to train with, play alongside and play against players from all around the world every Saturday during the season - UK, Europe, South America and Australasia - including those who have been or still are professional or semi-professional players or played for New Zealand.
I train around 20 hours a week including soccer training, weights, stretching, technique analysis, solo foot/hand work and calisthenics. My main qualities are proper technique of the basics, training hard, playing hard, being BRAVE, and being always focussed on listening to and applying feedback given.
2022: Prefect at Tauranga Boys College
2021/2022: 1st Overall In Drama
2021/2022: Endorsed Drama with Excellence
2022: Ko Te Tangata Scholarship 2020:
2020: National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1 Excellence Endorsed.
2020 Subject Athlete Development: Excellence Endorsed.
School Awards Tauranga Boys College: Diligence Award (2018, 2019), Excellent Report Card Award (2020), Excellent
Behaviour and Attendance Award (2018, 2019).
2021-2022 Tauranga Boys College (TBC)
First XI Squad - We are the New Zealand National Secondary School Champions for 2022, and also Super 8 Winners for 2022.
INGOAL Academy (dedicated academy for goalkeeping): Personal Coach - James Bannatyne, New Zealand Goalkeeper at 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
Individual Achievements (2020)
- Youngest player to debut at Mens Premiership level for Papamoa FC at 15 years and 253 days.
- Papamoa FC Men’s Individual Awards: (1) CHAMPIONSHIP Players Player of the Year, (2) CHAMPIONSHIP Players Most Valuable Player of the Year, (3) Papamoa Football Club’s MOST TALENTED DEVELOPMENT PLAYER Awards
Extracurricular Activities
Currently employed as a goalkeeping coach of talented 12-16 year olds (male and female) INGOAL Academy - owned and operated by James Bannatyne - New Zealand team Goalkeeper at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Coach students in the Academy during each school term and then locally and out of town running holiday programs for INGOAL.
I am a Chef at the Flat White Restaurant over the 2021/2022/2023 summer giving me skills to use in the future and a learning experience that was very memorable.
