The Blue Rovers Development Programme
Our club has a large group of players who want to take their football further. A lot has been written about what it takes to be a high achieving sports person, with the conversation often revolving around talent versus hardwork. What is now known is that:
- the single largest determinator of achievment is the number of quality coaching contacts a determined sports person has; and
- a "determined sports person" can be defined as anyone with a Growth Mindset and strong work ethic; and
- a large number of children drop out of sport before it "clicks" because they're not getting the recognition, connection, belonging and success they need for training to be fun.
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Term 4 Youth Development Programme
Our Term 4 Youth Development Programme has three purposes:
- It provides quality training for players who want to extend themselves in the off-season.
- It gives players an opportunity to experience training in a development environment. They can then make an informed decision with their parents if they're able to commit to the entry criteria (below).
- It gives players who want to join a development team in 2025 an opportunity to be seen and identified by coaches through a structured training environment, rather than a selection/trials environment.
Who: Youth (players who will be Grade 13+ in 2025)
What: 6-week training programme
Mixed Programme: Tuesdays starting 5th November
- Session 1 (13th Grade in 2025): 4.30pm to 6pm
- Session 2 (14th Grade and above in 2025): 6pm to 7.30pm
Girls-only Programme: Thursdays starting 7th November
- Session time: 4.30pm to 6pm
Where: Morland Fox Park
Cost: $60 ($10 per session)
Register here: Development Registration
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Term 4 Junior Development Programme (was called "Skill Labs")
Our Term 4 Youth Development Programme has two purposes:
- It provides quality training for players who want to extend themselves in the off-season.
- It gives players an opportunity to experience training in a development environment. They can then make an informed decision with their parents if they're able to commit to the entry criteria (below).
The Junior Development Programme in Term 4 doesn't have an entry criteria. It is great at building football skills, a Growth Mindset and work ethic for players who want to transition to a Development Team.
What: 8-week perodised programme for boys and girls on Fridays.
Dates: Friday 18th October to Friday 6th December.
Times: 4pm to 5pm.
Where: Morland Fox Park
Age: 7 to 12 year olds
Cost: $80.00 ($10 per session)
Register here: Development Registration
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Fantails
New Zealand Football created Fantails to provide more opportunities for young females to play football, and to increase female participates rates. Fantails at the Blue Rovers is focussed on giving girls aged 7 to 12 years a fun football experience where they can learn some skills, make friends, be active, and ultimately fall in love with "the beautiful game". Because Fantails is on Fridays from 4pm to 5pm, it's a great afterschool activity that girls can bring their friends along to and introduce them to football.
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2024 Term 3
What: 8-week perodised programme for girls on Fridays.
Dates: Friday 2nd August to Friday 20th September
Times: 4pm to 5pm.
Where: Pemberton Park
Age: 7 to 12 year olds
Cost: $40.00 ($5 per session). The club has received funding for the Fantails programme and are able to subsidise the Term 2 programme for participants.
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Development Teams
Closed for 2024. Registrations for 2025 open in January 2025.
We aim to have at least one mixed and one girls development team in Grade 9 and above. The teams train twice a week between March and September (Term 1, 2 and 3) allowing around 52 quality coaching contacts. Training follows a periodised plan, with one training session delivered by our Director of Football or another one of our experienced coaches, and the second session by the team coach. Development teams play in the league which provides the best challenge point for the team. For Youth Development Teams this may be local Federation league or the Baywide Youth Competition.
Development teams are also supported by our Club Physiotherapists, The Lakes Clinic, who provide individual player assessments and age-appropriate strength and conditioning programmes for the teams.
Development team players receive a training shirt and team hoodie as part of the development team fee. Youth (G13-16) and W-League players also receive a team shirt for pre and post match wear.
Entry Criteria
- Coaches are required to follow the Blue Rovers' Coaching philosophy, Code of Conduct and other Club policies, be committed to their own professional development, be prepared to work collaboratively, and pass a NZ Police Check.
- Players will need to be able to follow instructions and demonstrate a growth mindset and strong work ethic.
- Parents and caregivers will need to follow the Blue Rovers' Code of Conduct and other Club policies, support the coach and their child, including ensuring the player can train twice a week and by volunteering with the team in some capacity (e.g. managing the team, refereeing, first aid, setting up and packing down, helping with after match functions).
