Game Plan

A football coach conjures up images of a person who is part personal trainer, part tactician
and part motivational speaker. In other words, Ted Lasso*, but with a lot more knowledge of
the game. Englishman Chris Acott is all that — he’s full of smiles, positive anecdotes and tonnes
of genuine enthusiasm.

My first meeting with Chris is in his natural habitat — the Blue Rovers fields at Greerton’s Pemberton Park. His new job title is Director of Football and while that sounds quite formal, Chris is anything
but. I watch as he gently cajoles, motivates and moulds the kids, and in 20 seconds they go from
a rowdy, inattentive bunch into libraryesque-lads, all doing heavy-duty drills with smiles on their faces. It was impressive, effortless and even looked fun.

When we meet again, at his house, Chris is wearing a tracksuit and trainers, at the ready for his afternoon coaching sessions. There’s a sunny lounge, a box of well worn records, a coffee machine and his friendly dog, Maddie. Over a cup of tea, Chris talks about two of his loves: music, and adventures and travelling. He describes himself as a “bit of a nomad”, adding, “I enjoy the hustle
and bustle of big cities. It’s a chance to meet new people.”

His love of travel and people has led to him coaching worldwide: in the US (summer camps and
Mass Premier Soccer), UK (Northampton among others), Australia (Manly FC), and New Zealand (West Coast Rangers, formerly Norwest, where he spent 13 years in total).

So it’s fitting that he’s ended up at a club with ‘Rovers’ in its name.

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After finally getting itchy feet at West Coast Rangers, Chris was drawn to the Blue Rovers job because it had a great grassroots football structure in its First Kicks programme, and was very organised, thanks in no small part to Chairman Theo Ursum. “They are good people, very passionate. Everyone is going in the same direction,” says Chris. The club has also encouraged him to look at the bigger picture with the future of their own development programmes.

When asked how he defines success, Chris doesn’t focus on his CV highlights — he could have mentioned that four of the Norwest players he coached ended up as international players in the Football Ferns. Instead, he says: “Seeing young players develop a love for the game.” A major driver
is to get kids away from being glued to a screen — to play a team sport where they can develop interpersonal skills and collaborate with peers.

“The most important thing is, are they active? Are they playing a club sport? And then, obviously… can it be football? And can it be football at Blue Rovers? As long as they’re playing a team sport,
I’m happy,” says Chris. “When kids are young, the ceiling is almost unlimited. The keys are getting
kids to enjoy having the ball and taking away a fear of failure.”

Chris shares a coaching highlight about a child who was thinking about quitting football, but stuck
it out (with his encouragement) and ended up falling back in love with the game. She has since developed into an enthusiastic and skilful player, and is now coaching kids herself.

One of the most exciting projects Chris has been part of is implementing the Whole of Football
Plan at Norwest United, which — a decade later — is still being used throughout New Zealand.
The plan offers age-appropriate guidelines for 5 to 8 year olds, to assist coaches with good-quality training material.

He’s driven to develop new programmes for Blue Rovers, to interact with the wider football community through school visits and school holiday programmes, and create resources for the
wider community, such as a “Coaching Thesaurus”. Chris recognises this year is a very important
one for football clubs to develop a rapport with their local communities, especially with women
and girls, given the FIFA Women’s World Cup is right on our doorstep (it’s being jointly held with Australia, and runs until 20 August).

During the Auckland floods, his previous club, West Coast Rangers, opened its doors to offer
flood relief to affected people, as well as running other community minded programmes. Chris
is hopeful that, in future, Blue Rovers can offer something similar to the local area.  

His teacup now empty, Chris wraps up by saying, “I still like to think I’m a kid at heart. I still get
that same joy and satisfaction as when I first coached at 18 or 19 years old.”

His enthusiasm is infectious. And yes, he does remind me of an English/Kiwi version of Ted Lasso. Minus the cheesy slogans — and an aversion to tea. Given time, he might have the same sort of impact here in the Bay, before flying off to his next adventure. ‍

To find out more about Blue Rovers, including school holiday programmes, visit bluerovers.co.nz

*Ted Lasso is  a football-based ‘dramedy’ on Apple TV+.

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Words by Fraser Browne

Photography by ilk

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