Selwyn Times: October 20, 2021

Selwyn Times Wednesday October 20 2021
16
SPORT
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
National League came earlier than expected
• From page 15
The club fields more than 90
teams, from First Kicks Football
to the Masters side that headed to
Blenheim for a tournament last
week. Hopefully, a team will join
next year’s women’s premiership.
“The prediction is with current
growth we’d be looking at 110
teams in 2028,” de Rooy said.
Bigger isn’t necessarily better
– superclub Cashmere Technical
can beg to differ – so de Rooy
was wary about expansion with
the Foster Park headquarters at
capacity in spite of sporting 15
grounds.
The club lost one of six floodlit
pitches to hockey, but as compensation
the district council will
turn the No 1 field from grass to
artificial turf.
A playing surface able to handle
an increased workload is an
off-field triumph for a club which
also has hubs in Darfield, West
Melton, Leeston and Lincoln.
“Our player base has spread so
our resources have to be spread
as well,” de Rooy said, revealing
the budget to mark white lines on
the pitches was $25,000 a season.
The artificial turf installation
is on track for next season, other
goals have been fulfilled ahead of
schedule.
“We wanted to be a solid
(premiership) team and not in
SKILLS: Selwyn United is hoping a team will join next
year’s women’s premiership. PHOTO: KAREN CASEY
the relegation zone all the time
so we’ve actually reached the
National League a lot earlier than
we thought we would,” de Rooy
said.
“We just wanted to keep improving
and keep building a stable,
well-recognised club within
Canterbury that performs well
and the first team is only a small
portion of our club, we need to
remember our youngsters and all
the other teams.
“Our club is always based on
growing our own talent,” he said,
pinning dominant centre-back
Mitchell Cockburn as a poster
boy for that process.
“We don’t just go hunting for
players in other clubs that would
bolster our first team. Although
the success of our first team is
great, we’re still a community
and high performance club.”
However, making the National
League, which is scheduled to
start next month providing four
Auckland clubs are able to participate,
could create a selection
quandary.
“If we get players approaching
us we’re going to have to be very
balanced,” de Rooy said.
“The one thing we don’t want
NEXT GENERATION: Selwyn United’s junior programme
is in full swing to ensure a steady stream of talent is
developed by the club.
to do as a club is end up with an
environment where the younger
players coming through that are
striving to work hard to get into
that first team are then getting
getting pipped at the post by
people just walking in, people
that may not be committed to the
club, they just want to play for a
team that’s doing well.”
Sponsors, meanwhile, are welcome
to state their case.
“We’re talking to another big
sponsor that approached us after
we made the National League.
It’s an area we really need to push
because in Selwyn we can only
get grant money from pubs that
have pokies, and there’s not many
in the area,” de Rooy said.
“That’s where the teams in
town have a big advantage
over us and of course you’ve
got clubs like Cash-Tech and
Halswell that have got money
from way back.
“I’m not saying they’re sitting
on pots of gold but they’ve got
that infrastructure from way
back, they’ve got old members
that have got their own businesses
that are potentially funding
some of that stuff.
“As a fledgling club, it’s an area
we need to pick up on. What
value can we give to them?
“Certainly the National League
gives them a little bit. Ollie’s goal
might have great ramifications
down the track.”
APPLICATIONS OPEN
You can be the change! Get involved in your community and help young people share
their views on what is important in their lives.
Apply for a position on the Selwyn Youth Council at www.selwyn.govt.nz/youthcouncil.
Applications close Sunday 14 November.
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