If you want to win a national title in football or futsal give Hawke's Bay's Aleesha Heywood a call.
Six months after coaching the Central under-14 girls football team to national title glory Heywood, 28, coached the Central under-16 girls futsal team to title honours at their national tournament in Wellington last weekend. The futsal side is the first Central girls team to win a national title and like the football side was unbeaten.
Coincidentally both national titles were won in Wellington. However Central Football development officer Heywood was quick to point out continuity, rather than venue, was the key factor in her latest success.
"All 10 of my side were in the under-14 team which finished third last year. I had high hopes going into the tournament. Despite only having one training session which all of the players attended I knew there would be enough knowledge and experience in the team to finish in the top two. I was quite happy with the title."
Six of the girls were from Hawke's Bay and the other four from Taranaki. The six Bay girls were goal keeper Anna McCaw, target player and captain Milla Green, pivot Stella Marshall and flankers Hollie Gee, Jamie Evans and Sophie Watt.