Paul Smalley

<BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" LINK="#FFCC99" ALINK="#009D74" VLINK="#FF9966"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website</B></FONT>     |   <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id928.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Michel Platini"><U>Michel Platini</U></A>   |   <B>Paul Smalley</B>   |   <A HREF="id944.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Paul Smith"><U>Paul Smith</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id831.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Michel ZenRuffinen"><U>Michel Zen-Ruffinen</U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="04658020.gif" border=0 width="600" height="2" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paul Smalley</div> <div> <B>Soccer Public To Benefit From Smalley’s Investment Plans</B></div> <div> <B>by Jeremy Ruane</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="20" WIDTH="660" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2394 WIDTH="296"><div> Life’s quite busy for Paul Smalley at present, and it’s about to get busier.</div> <bR> <div> New Zealand Soccer’s newly appointed Director of Football is acquainting himself with his new working environment, getting involved in the training procedures of a couple of the country’s up-and-coming representative teams, and, in what little spare time he currently has, house-hunting.</div> <bR> <div> "There are some nice places on the North Shore", remarks the quietly spoken former England Youth international of his endeavours to date on this front.</div> <bR> <div> But it’s his short- and long-term plans for the direction of soccer in New Zealand which are of far greater interest to the country’s footballing public. "There is an immediate need to invest in people - to up-skill, to develop and to educate people to become better at what they do. Doing this will enable the national strategy to be successfully implemented over its ongoing four-year cycle.</div> <bR> <div> "There has to be a long-term development plan for the whole of New Zealand soccer. This is made up of a number of strategies, one of which is to invest in the people already involved in the game.</div> <bR> <div> "Take, for example, the mums and dads, and New Zealand’s current and former male and female internationals. Each group has different levels of experience they can contribute to the game, but right now, how can they go about doing so?</div> <bR> <div> "Such a situation raises the need for a coherent co-educational scheme, which allows easy accessibility for all kinds of people from all walks of life to be a part of the picture, thereby ensuring there’s an opportunity for all these people to contribute to the game here, and to be involved, and remain so".</div> <bR> <div> The idea of harnessing all our individual skills for the collective good is a highly sensible one, given that the sport is one which, compared to the numbers involved in the oval ball codes in this country, can’t really afford to have those who are willing to contribute, in whatever way they are able, not singing from the same hymnal while doing so.</div> <bR> <div> But such an ideal isn’t exactly rocket science, is it? "With respect to New Zealand Soccer", says Smalley, "they haven’t been in a position to control this aspect of the game. Indeed, it’s fair to say there has never been any real continuity or stability - the environment seems to have been one of constant change.</div> <bR> <div> "How can you ever hope to build anything if the ground on which you plan to lay the foundation stones isn’t stable?"</div> <bR> <div> The former defender intends to lay down some solid building blocks. "New Zealand will only reap the rewards of long-term planning, investment and thinking - visionary thinking, joined-up thinking.</div> <bR> <div> "Put another way, where do we want to go? How do we get there? What do we want to do?</div> <bR> <div> "Come January, 2004, I hope to be in a position to implement all of the national strategies, some of which are further along the road than others at present. But there is one strategy in particular which needs to be addressed in fairly short order.</div> <bR> <div> "At the end of January, 2003, NZS will host a get-together of all the CEOs and Directors of Football from around the country, at which we’ll collectively discuss the strategies, and embrace any contributions and observations which can enhance them.</div> <bR> <div> "The following month will see the introduction of a series of schemes which will see a lot of investment in New Zealand’s football people, which is effectively investing in the game.</div> <bR> <div> "This will entail a lot of training and development, working with all New Zealand clubs and their key personnel, by providing them with help and assistance in their work with players.</div> <bR> <div> "If you want to compete against the best in the world, you have to start with coaches - coaches are crucial.</div> <bR> <div> "There is a great foundation to work from, with the players being physically capable of rising to the challenge, and, in some cases, technically, too. It is enhancing that technical prowess, as well as players’ tactical understanding of various areas of the game, in which there is much to be gained from a programme aimed at improving coaches’ capabilities".</div> <bR> <div> Nottingham-born Smalley has been impressed with the response of the New Zealand soccer public so far. "I’m really taken with people’s positivity, their attitude and their willingness to bring the game forward. I already feel there’s been a general acceptance of what I envisage is required.</div> <bR> <div> "In my second week here, for instance, I met </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="296"><div> the Federation CEOs and Directors of Football in Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington, and we shared our ideas - it seemed very positive.</div> <bR> <div> "Indeed, it’s further impressed upon me how nicely poised soccer is in this country. I’m ambitious for New Zealand. The time is right; the culture is nicely buoyant; the people are here. I really think the game is ready to take off.</div> <bR> <div> "If it is to do so, we don’t want to be left behind. So we’ve got to be ready, and the way to do that is by investing in the people who are best-placed to release the latent energy which is present".</div> <bR> <div> The person who is driving this people investment programme does so having greatly benefited from such a process himself. </div> <bR> <div> It was early in his professional playing career that he got involved on the coaching side of things, and by the time he was twenty-one, Smalley had already gained the highest coaching qualification there was to gain in England, having benefited from the first-hand guidance of the likes of David Pleat and Howard Wilkinson, just a couple of the coaches who guided him during his time representing England at U-16, U-17 and U-18 level.</div> <bR> <div> Such was his prowess on the coaching side of things that he was appointed to work with the English Football Association on various projects, and upon concluding his playing career, he took on a full-time role in one of the game’s most esteemed organizations.</div> <bR> <div> The task of the Regional Director of the Central-Midlands-East region - an area embracing Ipswich, Norwich, Luton and Northampton, and all points in between - was a mammoth one.</div> <bR> <div> Working with the seventeen professional clubs in the area, the latest addition to New Zealand Soccer’s staff coached and assisted in the education and development of players from across the age grade spectrum at all these clubs, as well as the further education of coaches.</div> <bR> <div> As well, there was national and international coach education work to conduct.</div> <bR> <div> "It was a chaotic time, make no mistake, but very enjoyable and very stimulating. As part of my role, I went to three European Championship final tournaments with England’s Under-16 and Under-18 boys, and, in 2001, with the country’s women’s team.</div> <bR> <div> "I was asked to help out the women in 1999, and was a mentor for Hope Powell, who has come on in leaps and bounds and is now one of the leading international female coaches in the game.</div> <bR> <div> "Another not-to-be-missed experience took place in 1999. England were at the World Youth (U-20) World Championships in Nigeria with a very inexperienced squad - the likes of Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard, who were eligible for selection, were unavailable due to Liverpool’s commitments at the time. </div> <bR> <div> "To be part of a tournament such as this has to be the pinnacle for the coach of any international team".</div> <bR> <div> Having enjoyed the opportunity to dine at some of the finest footballing banquets on the planet, and with his coaching experience and what he has accomplished in his career to date, the attraction of a comparative footballing microcosm like New Zealand can’t have been financial, especially when compared with the monetary rewards so readily available throughout England and Europe. So what lured the 36-year-old to this area of the world?</div> <bR> <div> "What really appealed to me is the role itself - it’s so diverse, yet so faceted. It embraces everything possible - from policy-setting to strategy development, to the opportunity to work with, manage, teach and invest in people to improve their effectiveness as coaches.</div> <bR> <div> "Why does it appeal to me? I’m more of a strategic person than a ‘hands-on’ type. If you were to picture an olden-day ship going along, I’m like the person in the crow’s nest, who can see what’s on the horizon and can plot the course which allows the captain to avoid the reefs and sandbanks, and steer the ship on the right path.</div> <bR> <div> "As well as this, I love working with people, teaching them, and helping them become better at what they do - it’s something from which I take tremendous satisfaction, and I enjoy the chance to see those same people reap the long-term benefits".</div> <bR> <div> With its burgeoning player base at youth level and its ever-improving profile on the international stage, the footballing public of New Zealand can only benefit from this willingness to invest in their talents, and harness same for the good of the game.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <A HREF="id826.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Great The Good"><U>The Great & The Good</U></A>     <A HREF="id1004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Paul Smalleys Plans"><U>Paul Smalley's Plans</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </BODY>