Hard act to follow as football president steps down

Nearly three decades of dedicated service to the Hibiscus Coast Association Football Club will be recognised when Scott Beard steps down as the club’s longest serving president at the annual general meeting next month.

Beard joined the club in 1996 and has been the club president for the past 12 years.

“I think it’s time to hand over to someone new,” he says. “I’m not leaving the club – just standing aside and letting some of the young members have a go.”

There have been a lot of changes at Hibiscus Coast AFC since Beard brought his children along to play in 1996.

Back then, the club was run entirely by volunteers, there were lights on only one side of the park and membership was around “a few hundred”.

Today, there are a number of paid staff and more than 1400 winter members and 1600 summer players, making it the 10th largest club in the Northern Region Football Federation.

In a message from the club executive announcing Beard’s resignation, it was noted that “his passion, leadership, and unwavering commitment have left an indelible mark on every aspect of the club. His tenure [as president] has been nothing short of transformative.”

Over the years, Beard has coached at every level, from juniors to U23s, and both the women’s and men’s first teams. He also has a reputation as a respected coach and leader further afield, through his connections at NZ Football and coaching roles for the federation’s talent age group teams and with NZ Football in the age grade academies.

The club executive said his ability to secure donations, sponsorships and significant items for fundraising had been instrumental in the club’s success. Some of the milestones included new changing rooms and a concrete raceway, and strengthened relationships with local sponsors, the local board, MPs and the wider community.

The downstairs clubrooms had also been renovated with $100,000 worth of improvements after the club featured on the television series Clubhouse Rescue.

Beard is an enthusiastic advocate for mental health, youth development and community well-being, and has shared how the club has been his mental release and escape from the pressures of daily work life.

He said that for him, the club had always been about community, bring families together to have fun.

“Sport teaches kids many life skills and promotes healthy social development. If teenagers are playing sport, they’re not out in their cars hooning, drinking and taking drugs; simple as that.”

Pushed to name an achievement that he would look back on with pride, Beard said he had particularly enjoyed starting the school holiday programmes with Wynton Rufer, but perhaps he was most proud of the fact that about a dozen players whom he had coached over the years had gone on to join the police force.

Beard has been a police officer for more than 40 years and holds the rank of Detective Inspector.

The executive concluded their message with a “heartfelt thanks” for Beard’s years of service, vision and leadership. “Your legacy will continue to inspire the next generation of players, coaches, and leaders at Hibiscus Coast AFC,” they said.