NorthTec and Northland FC announce new partnership

NorthTec is delighted it announce its new partnership with Northland Football Club (Northland FC). The partnership is launching for 2022 and hopes to continue in future years for a mutually beneficial relationship.

NorthTec will be supporting Northland FC and its players by providing equipment and personnel from its High Performance Lab and Sport and Recreation Pathway for the purpose of athlete testing during the football season. This will be used to support further training and performance plans as well as possibly providing a base for shared research.

“This is a really exciting opportunity for our local athletes, stakeholders, and communities to directly experience high performance lab and field testing, right here in Te Tai Tokerau,” says Dan Clark, NorthTec’s Pathway Manager for Business and Sport. “NorthTec Sport and Recreation department are happy to work with all sports codes across the region.”

Both parties will work to help Northland FC players who are interested in enrolling in tertiary study, not just with Sport and Recreation programmes but over the entire 100 programmes offered by NorthTec. The aim is to also help transition players into vocational careers via the hands-on and practical training NorthTec provides.

“We’re really excited to be working alongside NorthTec in this space as it will help to elevate our programs through use of their high performance lab, which will enable us to improve data collection on players to allow greater insight into areas such as injury prevention and player welfare,” says Northland FC Chairman Trevor Griffiths. “It’s also a great opportunity for NorthTec to highlight tertiary education options in the region to our members as they seek to take the next steps in their education.”

Additionally, NorthTec and Northland FC will work together to host information sessions and presentations throughout the year and during training camps. These will help players and their whānau learn about careers options and pathways available to them as well as the latest offerings and opportunities available at NorthTec, along with optional campus tours.

As part of this partnership, further research and development could lead to football specific qualifications and/or opportunities for cross-training between NorthTec and Northland FC around coaching and lecture development.