SOCCER - International edge to new coach

Northland footballing stocks received a significant boost recently with the varied experience of coach Dean Wheatley added to their ranks.
The former Lincoln City youth and reserve team coach has taken a fulltime role as United Soccer One's Northland area coach and says there is plenty of work to do.
"I think Kiwi coaches need a bit more exposure to the outside world for the country's teams to reach their potential," he said. "I think coach education is vital, if the coaches are taken to a higher level the players will be taken up too."
Wheatley said success bred success and the national side needed to take more prominence if the sport wanted to grow in New Zealand.
"The All Whites have to get a few results and start doing a bit better on the international stage and then the interest will stay longer among the young players."
He said the sport couldn't continue dining off the success of the All Whites in qualifying for World Cup in Spain in 1984.
"That was a long time ago now and things have moved on and I think that, if you get the coaching up to speed, success will follow."
Wheatley left England several years ago to take up a coaching position in Singapore, and he's washed up on our shores keen to make a difference.
He left Lincoln City to take over the head coaching role at Woodlands, one of the top Singapore clubs in the tiny but densely populated state's professional league.
"It was interesting and I learnt a lot, dealing with professional players from all over the world," he said.
Wheatley achieved some success with the club taking them into the Asian Cup Winners Cup.
The Englishman then opened up development academies in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and finally Jakarta, where he eventually relocated.
He met his Kiwi partner Jan in Jakarta and eventually the pair tired of the ex-pat lifestyle and moved to New Zealand.
"Ten years away was enough for me and I wanted to settle down a bit so we came over and got some property at Mangawhai," he said,
Wheatley was coaching part-time in Auckland when former Northland area coach John Hewitson was called back to England for family reasons.
"I didn't really intend to coach fulltime but, when John left, I was persuaded to take over his job and I'm enjoying it."
He is one of the coaches in charge of running the player development programme for 9-11 year-olds that got under way at Kensington Park on Sunday.
The programme aims to give high-level training to the area's young talent - in some cases talented eight-year-olds will be recruited.
The next step up is the Northland Centre of Excellence, a course for 12 to 15-year-olds.
"When they get to the 12-year-olds, they have to be invited to join the Northland Centre of Excellence and that depends on how they've developed over the previous three years," he said.
New players have the opportunity to join the centre, which also has specialist goalkeeper training, but they may be expected to trial to get into the centre.
The PDP and Northland Centre of Excellence sessions are held on Sunday morning in seven-week blocks in each of terms two and three.