New coaching role for Wellington Phoenix’s Chris Greenacre

posted in: Coaching News, News, Recognition

The Wellington Phoenix have boosted their coaching resources for developing young players by appointing club legend Chris Greenacre as their Academy Head Coach.

Greenacre (43) is currently the Phoenix Assistant Coach for its men’s A-League side and has accrued about 10 years’ coaching experience following a stellar playing career in Australia/New Zealand and in his native United Kingdom.

Phoenix Academy Technical Director Paul Temple says the academy role for Greenacre shows the club’s level of commitment to helping young New Zealanders become professional footballers and find a pathway into A-League football.

“It’s brilliant for our staff and the wider Academy as we’re trying to show that we have the best coaches in the country, working with the best players – so this decision fits our model straight away as Greeny is one of the best operators in the country,” Temple says on the Phoenix official website.

“It’s awesome for Greeny too – he’ll be a Head Coach of his own team, have a key role in working with the next crop of young players, helping them progress into the first team and understanding the jump they need to make into becoming a professional; he’s got a unique skillset in being able to do that.”

The Phoenix Academy has grown significantly in size since Temple’s arrival six years ago. The academy now has 7-8 player groups and 20 staff.

“It’s reached a point as an organisation where I personally need to put more focus into how we continue building this Academy to be sustainable for the future – how we build the girl’s programme and how we tie everything into our philosophy, our blueprint and our culture,” Temple says.

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