Pfefferle would rather train Stags than horses
While horses brought Ian Pfefferle down Manawatu way, rugby was always his real passion. The man who is now the Feilding Old BoysOroua senior coach was a halfback when he played at Hastings Boys’ High School and was also an apprentice jockey.
‘‘ I was into horses when I was still at school,’’ he recalled.
‘‘ My uncle was a a chop.
‘‘ When they had horse sales at Stortford Lodge we’d sneak down there and ride the buggers.’’
He then found himself training horses in Foxton before being invited to train at the Feilding Jockey Club and 18 months later they closed the track down. ‘‘ I lost the passion for it,’’ he said. For the past 18 years he has worked in Palmerston North at Webforge, who do galvanising and industrial flooring, and where Pfefferle runs despatch.
His name, by the way, is Swiss, a few generations.
He has proved to be a better trainer at rugby that in horse racing.
Something clicked one day when he went on a Feilding primary school camp and the boys wanted a game of touch. Pfefferle had a rugby ball and soon had more than 50 kids taking part.
Matt Rakatau asked him if he was interested in coaching kids rugby. Next he started coaching Feilding Saturday morning rugby, enjoyed it and kept at it for five years.
‘‘ I enjoyed coaching more than playing, trying to find the key to a player.’’
The late Rick Francis asked Pfefferle if he would like to coach at Feilding High School, even if he is the father of two daughters. He coached netball for a couple of seasons and laughed that the girls were passing the netball like a rugby ball for a time.
‘‘ They lost two games in two years. It was a bit of fun.’’
He coached the Feilding High 14Bs, took the 15Bs to a final. Later he coached the 2nd XV but didn’t enjoy that, being a feeder for the 1st XV ‘‘ and the rest of the team suffers’’.
At Feilding OB- Oroua he built their colts team up from nothing, roping in players, asking every kid he ran into to come along and play.
In his first two years, they finished and in the third year they won the competition.
‘‘ It was a very impressive little team and a few are playing with us now. Another two or three would like to come back and play Bs.’’
Things didn’t work out a year later when Pfefferle was named the seniors’ assistant coach to Billy Meehan, so he went back to Feilding High and guided the 14As to the final.
‘‘ I was happy to do another year at the high school. I enjoyed the kids; they’re like sponges.
‘‘ Then the club approached me and I needed time to think about it.’’
He took on the rebuild job and in a preseason game the Stags were smashed 80- 0 by College Old Boys and yet Pfefferle still got a lot of positives from it, felt they were setting a real foundation.
A friend said: ‘‘ You must be the most optimistic coach in New Zealand.’’
Although the Stags have yet to win a game, and he knows followers are disappointed about that, Pfefferle believes he and co- coaches Dennis Peeti and Daniel Harper can see growth every week.
Pfefferle reckons in every game they have had their share of territory and ball and there has been no drop- off at practices.
‘‘ I’m quite pleased. I was expecting them to drop off and even though the results aren’t there, they are still enjoying it.
‘‘ When we win one we’ll really turn the corner,’’ he vowed.
It is such a young team that there are four 18- year- olds.
‘‘ We’ve earnt a little
Feilding Old Boys- Oroua coch Ian Pfeferle, right, chats to his first five- eighth Adam Mabey, after the derby match at Johnston Park.