Papatoetoe AFC Warriors sew up title
An adventurous risk-taking brand of football has won Papatoetoe AFC Warriors G12 a second Auckland Football title.
It’s a style of football which Vikash Nair says took his young charges to the AFF’s 12th grade division 2B title with 16 wins, two draws and four losses.
The championship adds to the Division 3 title they won last year with 13 wins from 14 matches and extends the team’s overall record under Nair to 23 wins, two draws and five losses. This includes a 16 game winning streak spanning two seasons.
In Nair, the players have somebody who is passionate about coaching and keeps adding to his knowledge and coaching credentials.
He arrived from Fiji five years ago with certificates from Oceania Football Federation and Football Australia’s Just Play programme, qualifications which saw him in charge of youth development in the capital city Suva where he lived.
The 44-year-old supply chain manager has since added a New Zealand Level One certificate for both the outdoor and indoor (Futsal) versions of the game.
‘‘Being positive and adventurous and taking risks is our style,’’ Nair says.
‘‘It begins in the head of each player with a desire to achieve and a willingness to take responsibility.
‘‘Every member of the team has a purposeful role to play and therefore a responsibilities to shoulder.
‘‘Players were reminded and taught individual and collective responsibility from the very start of their involvement.
‘‘Our pre-game talks are generally about our expectations, the players’ belief in themselves, and their trust in one another.
‘‘The power of a strong, collective team mindset is based upon the conviction that every single player can be trusted to carry out his responsibilities.
‘‘I tell them that having a work ethic is very important. This helps build character and pride within the team.’’
‘‘The challenge for the team and I is to keep growing, develop for the better and be passionately dedicated to what’s in front of us.’’
Nair, Papatoetoe AFC’s junior coach of the year for the last two season, says his team’s milestone achievement would not have been possible without the tremendous support from parents.