Better communication with members, upgraded facilities and a voice on the area’s sports collective are some of the priorities of newly-elected Warkworth Association Football Club president Mike Lewis.
Mike has been in an acting role since the departure of former president Matt Bull early last year.
“I felt it was time to step up to officially fill the role,” he says.
Mike got involved in the club when his children started playing football and has been the treasurer since 2009.
One of his first priorities as president has been to oversee an upgrade to the clubrooms at Shoesmith Domain.
Decking has been replaced, the roof and deck skirting fixed, and the cladding redone, while a full exterior repaint and an interior upgrade are also in the pipeline.
Work is expected to be finished by the end of this season.
“The clubroom is the centre of the club so it’s important we take pride in it and it looks smart,” Mike says.
The club has brought in Union of European Football Association’s A qualified coach Brian Derby following the Northern Football Federation decision to can its skills centres last year.
Brian, previously a New Zealand Football coach educator, is running eight development sessions with players aged 7 to 12 and 13 to 19.
Mike says the club will review its junior player development in the future, with the view of expanding it.
He also see the club’s involvement with the Mahurangi Sport and Recreation Collective as being important.
“We expect Warkworth to grow exponentially in the next few years, and the club needs to be prepared for that growth. We see participation in the collective as the future so we can keep the focus on playing football.”
Communication within the club is being revamped with the club website now under Sports TG, giving members greater ability to keep it up to date.
Mike says this will give them a lot more flexibility to post notifications and keep members informed. The Facebook page will also be updated regularly and a fortnightly newsletter will be sent to the club’s 550 email recipients.
The club also hopes to appoint a club administrator to take the pressure off volunteers.
