Info for Coaches and Managers (Junior, and Youth grades)
Thank you for stepping up as a volunteer coach or manager to support one of our Junior (9th-12th grade) or Youth (13th-19th grade) teams!
Your time, dedication and passion make a huge difference in supporting the club and inspiring our young footballers. We truly appreciate all that you do!
On this page, you'll find useful resources and information to support you in your journey as an RDS football coach or manager.
Coaching is a team effort, and we're here to support you every step of the way. If you have any questions, or need help, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Team Communication
When team lists have been finalised, you can go to our RDS homepage and at the top right of the page, log in using your credentials.
Once logged in, you will be able to see your full team list along with their contact phone number and email address.
You can choose how you wish to communicate with your team throughout the season, however, most find that using a team management app such as TeamReach is most efficient as you can communicate easily, load events/games/trainings and track attendance and scores also.
Whatsapp Coaches Group
Please ensure you have joined our RDS Coaches group on Whatsapp. There are also sub-groups for separate grades that you can be added to depending on what grade you are coaching/managing.
These groups are for our coaches and managers to communicate with one another, provide coaching tips, ask questions and also to get support and notices from our committee.
Every week, once your games have ended, we also ask that you post a quick message in the group advising your team name, opposition name and the final match score.
If you are coaching or managing a team this year and need to join the RDS Coaches Whatsapp group, please let us know by emailing us at admin@rdsports.co.nz.
Note: You will only be added to the group if you are a coach or manager noted in our system.
Coaches Bags
If you are coaching a Junior, Youth or Senior team, you will receive an RDS coaches bag. This bag will contain a first-aid kit for your team as well as a set of coloured bibs and a Player of the Day trophy and/or certificates.
This bag is for you to keep throughout the season and return at the end. We ask that you please take care of these items as they are property of the club.
Fixtures
For Junior, Youth and Senior football, fixtures can be viewed on the NRF website (Links below).
Please be aware that these fixtures can change up until the night before a game so it pays to always double check these the night before.
Junior Football Fixtures - Northern Region Football - Harbour Junior Fixtures
Youth Football Fixtures - Northern Region Football - NRF Auckland Youth Competitions
Senior Community Men Football Fixtures - Northern Region Football - NRF Community Senior Men
Senior Community Women Football Fixtures - Northern Region Football - NRF Community Senior Women
Game Day at Metro Park
Got a home game coming up?
Each week, you will receive a Whatsapp announcement advising which teams are playing at Metro Park, what fields they are playing on and what time they are playing.
If you are the first game to play on a particular field, you and your team will be required to set up the pitch. This involves putting nets up, corner flags, sideline cones (if required) and retreating line discs (if required). It is recommended that you ask other parents to assist with this so you can focus on training/warm-up for your team.
In your Coaches Bag, you will have received a guide on how to set up the field for your relevant age grade.
If you need help with this for your first time, please ask one of our team around Metro Park or you can ask in the Whatsapp Coaches group.
For Junior Football, the field requirements can also be found in the NRF Junior Football Handbook.
Please note: All games must finish on time. Even if you start late, you need to finish on time as there are often games starting straight after. Be sure to have your team de-brief OFF the field so that the next game can get underway.
If you are the last game to play on a particular field, you and your team will be required to pack down the pitch. This includes taking down the nets and corner flags, collecting all cones and discs and returning ALL of these items to the blue container near the entrance to the field.
Please ensure ALL items are packed away neatly INSIDE the container.
The balls should be put inside the ball bags with balls of the same size, nets are to be placed in the wheelie bins labelled 'nets' and all cones are to be stacked neatly to the right hand-side of the container with the other cones.
Please DO NOT leave any gear outside the container.
If for any reason the container happened to be locked when you need to put gear away, please just drop a message in the Whatsapp group to let us know and one of our team will come and help you out.
Don't forget to also post your final game scores in the Coaches Whatsapp group.
Metro Park Field Layout
See to the left for a layout of Metro Park fields.
Please note: Our in-house First Kicks and Fun Football runs from 8:30am - 9:30am on Saturday mornings. This spans across pitches 3A and 3B.
Game Day for Away Games
If you have an away game coming up, please ensure you advise your team to allow enough time for travelling to your away field as well as time for a good warm-up.
Saturday mornings can be quite chaotic around some football fields and finding a carpark can be difficult so make sure to allow time for finding a carpark also.
We understand you may require some gear for your team to use in their warm-up. We ask that you take no more than 3 balls and a small amount of cones from the container for this purpose.
When you are taking gear to other fields, please ensure to take care of it and ensure that everything leaves with you at the end of your game.
As the gear is shared by other teams, please make sure you return it to the container as soon as possible so that other teams dont miss out.
After your game, don't forget to also post your final game scores in the Coaches Whatsapp group.
Player of The Day Award
In your Coaches bag, you will be given a 'Player of the Day trophy and/or some certificates to award to one player after each game.
After your game, it is good practice to gather your team up for a quick chat about what went well in the game and offer some words of encouragement. This is also a good time to announce your Player of the Day.
The recipient of the Player of the Day award should be selected by the coach or manager each week.
Some things to consider when selecting your Player of the Day are:
- Effort and work rate
- Positive attitude
- Teamwork and Sportsmanship
- Individual improvement
- Leadership e.g. communication on the field
- Displaying skills covered at training sessions
Field Allocation for Training Sessions
We have a lot of teams needing to train throughout the week so to ensure there are no clashes with space and equipment, we have assigned each team a training day/time and field to use.
See below for the 2025 winter football field allocation sheet.
If you need to make any changes to this throughout the season, please let us know.
Cancellations and Field Closures
If football needs to be cancelled for any reason such as bad weather, flooding etc, you will be notified as soon as possible.
Our team will post a notice in the RDS Coaches group on Whatsapp, in our RDS facebook group, on our RDS facebook page, and emails will also be sent to all affected by the cancellations.
We ask that you also reach out to your team using your regular communication method to ensure everyone is aware of the cancellation.
There may be times after we've had heavy rain where the council may close the fields to preserve them for the rest of the season.
The council updates the field closures online every weekday by 1pm. It is good practice to check each day that your team is training to ensure the fields are open.
You can check the field closures here
Want to learn more?
If you're keen to learn more and upskill your coaching, there are some great online coaching courses available to you from NZ Football.
You can register for the online modules using the following link NZ Football - NZF Learn
You can also download the free Coachmate app which has great drills and practice plans that may inspire you.
Referees
You will need to supply a referee for half of your game each week. It is highly recommended that this person is not also the coach as the coach needs to be focussed on coaching duties.
You may like to ask another parent or supporter to assist with this.
NZ Football also provides great online refereeing courses which you can complete at no cost to ensure you are up-to-date with the rules that are relevant to the grade you are refereeing.
See here for the referee courses - NZ Football - NZF Learn
End of Season Prizegiving
At the end of the winter football season (normally mid-late September), we host an RDS prizegiving.
This is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the players, coaches and supporters throughout the season.
It's a chance to reflect on the highlights, recognise individual and team accomplishments, and to honour the hard work and commitment that everyone has contributed.
The coach of each team will be asked to put forward three names from their team as the recipients of the following awards:
- Players Player
- Coaches Player
- Clubman/Clubwoman
Players Player - This award is given to the player who is voted by their teammates as a great team player. For this one, you can ask each player in the team to vote for who they believe is the best player in the team and who they believe is the second best player in the team. You would then select the Players Player from these votes. If you are coaching younger children, it is wise to encourage them to really think about their vote and not to just pick their friends.
Coaches Player - This award is chosen by the coach/manager. This can be the player that is voted as second best by the players or it may be someone else if the coach believes another is deserving of it. Some things to consider when selecting the recipient of this award are commitment, listening, respect, turning up to training and being supportive of other players in the team.
Clubman/Clubwoman - This award is also chosen by the coach/manager and is awarded to the player who puts in 100% effort every time, shows great willingness to learn and adapt, great sportsmanship, and embodies the values of the club.
FAQs
Q. What if we are not able to get a referee for our game?
Drop a message in the RDS Coaches group on Whatsapp and someone may be able to assist if it is a home game. Alternatively, you can politely ask the opposition team if they wouldn't mind refereeing the full game if this is a one-off problem.
Q. What should I do if my team is short on players for a game?
Post in the RDS Coaches sub-group relating to your relevant grade on Whatsapp. There may be another team in the same grade who can lend you one or two players.
Need Additional help?
If you require some additional support, please reach out to our team on the RDS Coaches group on Whatsapp, or you can email us at football@rdsports.co.nz
