George Cowie, West Ham United coaches visit Port Macquarie for soccer camp

Meet some of the young players who had the opportunity to be coached by Premier League stars right here on the Mid North Coast.

From as north as Coffs and as south as Newcastle, local soccer players aged 7-16 had a rare opportunity to be trained by some of the best overseas coaches these school holidays.

Last week George Cowie, a former professional football player who has worked all around the world promoting the sport, flew two West Ham United players out to Australia for his roaming Player ID camp.

For the first time in Mid North Coast history, Port Macquarie was on the itinerary.

Coming from a small village in northern Scotland, Mr Cowie knows how important it is to have these sporting opportunities, no matter your postcode.

“Regional areas often miss out a bit, but I think talent can come from anywhere – big city or a rural area,” he said.

“There’s loads of good local coaches here in Australia, no question about that, but learning from West Ham coaches is a bit of a novelty for the kids: something a little bit different for them during the school holidays.

“And, if they do well at these camps, they can be scouted for our four-day residential camp on the Gold Coast.

“From that camp, exceptional players can be invited to the UK to actually visit The Academy, play games, visit other clubs and get even more coaching.”

The program started over a decade ago, with three small Player ID camps in southern Queensland, and has since grown to be offered right across the country.

This year’s Player ID coaches, Josemar Santos and Liton Zaman, have visited down under before but this month was their first time teaching young players in Port Macquarie.

Having been the director of football in Queensland and a national coach in the Solomon Islands, Mr Cowie has developed a lot of contacts that have helped him grow the program.

“I’ve been here a long time, in a few different jobs, so I’ve established a lot of friends across Australia and New Zealand,” he explained.

“We like to work with the camps – not just stick one here and walk away – and Mick Day does a fantastic job for football in the region, so we were more than happy to partner with Port Macquarie this year.”

The camp’s inaugural visit to Port Macquarie was the result of Mr Cowie’s partnership with Eastcoast Eagles director Mick Day.

“For us, it’s truly an honour to have these guys visit Port Macquarie,” Mr Day said.

“We have a great partnership with George, who has been keen to help us promote football and futsal in the region.

“We’ll continue that relationship and try to bring even more opportunities to local kids.”

Mr Cowie said he hopes to visit Port Macquarie again in the future.

“Some of the camps we’ve established those good relationships with have been running for 10 years, so I’m hoping that happens here and we can visit the Mid North Coast again,” he said.

The wet weather played a part over the Thursday and Friday, with Mr Cowie saying some players couldn’t make it through closed roads on day one of the program last week.

But the sun came out in time for the second day of the camp, and more players from outside Port Macquarie were able to travel up for the occasion.

Feedback from the program was overwhelmingly positive, from both players and their parents.

Kate and Jarvis Lineham | MidCoast NPL

Jarvis is a 14-year-old MidCoast National Premier League (NPL) player.

Mum Kate said the West Ham coaches’ visit has been a great experience for Jarvis and his fellow soccer lovers.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the players to show these professionals that regional kids can do everything that the city kids can do,” Kate said.

“In fact, sometimes they have more passion and more drive (than their metropolitan counterparts), because they really take hold of these opportunities – which are more rare for the regions – and give it their absolute all.”

After just day one of the camp, Jarvis was ready for more.

“He said he loved it, and it was an amazing opportunity,” Kate said.

“And he really appreciated the high-calibre of coaching and training.”

Amber and Cody Notley | Macksville

Nine-year-old Cody had a blast learning from the professional coaches.

“It’s really good for him,” Mum Amber told The Mid North Coast News.

“He’s still quite young, but I’m sure he’ll benefit from it.

“Cody also said he’s made a couple of friends, which is great.

“It’s just a good school holiday activity for the kids.”

The young Macksville Stingers player wasn’t the only one who took home new skills from the experience.

Amber’s husband – Cody’s Dad – also got something out of the camp.

“My husband coaches on the weekend and he said even he learnt a few things watching them,” she said.

Natalie and Rohan Dormor | Cooks Hill

Rohan, 14, was thankful for the shining sun on Friday.

He was cut off by wet weather on the first day of the camp, but able to make it through to Port Macquarie on the second day.

The Hunter Valley player was one of four athletes who travelled up for day two.

“I think it’s a great opportunity; for the experience, to give our towns a go, and to have any upcoming talent noticed,” Mum Natalie said.

“To learn new techniques from coaches, and have the opportunity to ask them for advice and guidance, it opens up pathways for them.”

Lauren and Mack Steels | Port Macquarie

Seven-year-old Mack told Mum Lauren that he loved the rare opportunity to be coached by some of London’s finest.

“He’s exhausted after a big couple of days, but he’s really enjoyed himself,” Lauren said.

The camp also reinvigorated the Port Saints player’s passion for the game.

“These kind of opportunities make the kids feel supported,” Lauren explained.

“Especially out in the regions, where they don’t always get opportunities like this.

“We’ve lived in a variety of regional towns and we’ve never had anything like this before, so it’s wonderful for them to feel included.”

Darren and Kash Taylor | Macksville

Darren said his nine-year-old son, Kash, was excited by the opportunity to meet new friends and develop his abilities over the two-day camp.

“It’s just a good way to learn more and play with different kids,” Darren said.

“These guys are really good at what they do, teaching football.

“So Kash has absolutely loved it.”

Young Kash is currently between soccer clubs, having once played for Kempsey and now looking to join a new club in Macksville, so the opportunity to interact with other Mid North Coast players was another valuable part of the experience.

Tarnya, Frank and Clancy Jones | Taree

Nine-year-old Clancy got plenty out of his two days out on the field, according to his parents.

Travelling up for the occasion, the young athlete represents the Taree Wildcats.

“He thought it was the best development day he’s ever been to – his words,” Mum Tarnya said.

“These kinds of opportunities really do mean the world,” Dad Frank added.

“It’s rare that kids on the Mid North Coast have exposure to such quality coaching.”

Tarnya said the camp has done a great job of reigniting Clancy’s love of football.

“It’s strengthened his passion for the sport,” she said.

“He’s been excited about learning those new skills, and putting them into practice.

“He also said he’s made some new friends.”

Mick Day and Laurent Gonfond | Eastcoast Eagles

Mr Day was overjoyed with the response to the Player ID camp in Port Macquarie, describing the experience as “almost beyond words”.

“We’ve just been bombarded with positive feedback,” he said.

“These kids have done eight hours – four each day – sprinting, and still they’re just beaming.

“You can see they don’t even want to go home, they just want to keep playing.”

Mr Day was blown away by the distance some players travelled, just to participate.

“From up at Coffs, down to Newcastle – that’s a crazy reach,” he said.

“They’ve all come to Port Macquarie for this.”

Mr Day said it great to see his and George’s working relationship bring so much joy to young players.

“Not only that but, to have George and the West Ham coaches entrust in us too, means the world,” Mr Day said.

“And now that George has seen the talent here, this commitment will be ongoing.”

Mr Day and head delegate Laurent Gonfond spent the two down representing the Eastcoast Eagles down at the fields, enjoying everything the West Ham talent had to teach.

“We’re here to watch and learn too,” Mr Day said.

“So it really does benefit the whole football community.”