Herbert opens Strathallan academy
ACG Strathallan will become home to the country’s newest Ricki Herbert Football Academy (RHFA) Talent Centre.
Based in Karaka, ACG Strathallan will become the ninth RHFA Talent Centre in New Zealand.
Former New Zealand international and professional footballer and coach Ricki Herbert joined ACG Strathallan principal Robin Kirkham at the school to finalise the partnership and meet with some of the school’s aspiring student footballers.
Herbert’s father, Clive, 82, a long-time football coach who lives in Papakura, visited alongside his son.
Clive is involved in the football academies, chiefly as a mentor.
The new partnership will provide two coaching sessions a week with a professional coach from the Ricki Herbert Football Academy from October.
The curriculum, which covers all age groups from five to 18, has been developed by Herbert.
Sessions will take place at ACG Strathallan and schools and clubs around the area will be invited to be involved.
ACG Strathallan principal Robin Kirkham said the philosophy was to get as many young people as possible out there involved in football and playing games.
‘‘It gives us the opportunity to be a centre of excellence for football in South Auckland and pro- vide a chance for a much wider range of kids in the area to play football and access coaching at a high standard.’’
The talent centre offered opportunities for children to realise their potential over a period of time, Herbert said.
‘‘It’s similar to education in that it’s often not instantaneous, so there’s an alignment between what both the school and the centre are about.’’
Herbert said he hoped the new centre would attract aspiring players from Manurewa, Pukekohe, Drury, Waiuku, Papakura and Karaka among others.
Ricki Herbert is a former New Zealand international and professional footballer who has represented New Zealand at FIFA World Cup Finals both as a player and as a coach.
His academies offer coaching, inter-centre competitions, holiday programmes and national camps and they have partnerships with top English club Fulham and football clubs in South America.