Stokes Valley Junior Football

❤️💛🖤 THANK YOU, SYMON 🖤💛❤️

Last night, we received some news that none of us were quite ready for…

After five incredible years as part of the Stokes Valley junior FC family, our Junior Director of Football, Symon King, has decided to step down from his role.

And while we’re incredibly sad to see Symon step away, we want to take this opportunity to say thank you for everything he has given to our club, our players and our community. ❤️

For the past five years, Symon has given so much of himself to this club. His time, his energy, his ideas, his passion, his patience… and probably more hours than any of us could ever count.

Symon has been such a huge part of the SVJFC journey, and when we asked him what some of his favourite highlights have been over the years, this is what he came up with…

⚽ The U10 girls — in his first year at the club, every time he watched them play they wouldn’t score a goal… so he’d leave at half time… and they’d go on to win the game. 😂 We’re still not sure what that says about Symon!

💦 The invention of the dunk tank — one of the many ideas that somehow became a reality at SVJFC!

⚽ Watching our kids grow — seeing their personalities develop alongside their football skills, including some who started with us at First Kicks and are now playing U10 football.

🏆 Coaching several U7/U8 teams at tournaments — and somehow always managing to finish ahead of the other coaches. 😝

👦 Creating our first U17 team in 20 years — an incredible milestone for the club and something Symon can be incredibly proud of.

❤️ Making Stokes Valley FC bigger and better for the next generations of kids — leaving the club in a stronger place for the children who will come through our doors in the years ahead.

And, of course…

😂 Surviving the girls picking on him!

We’re not sure which achievement deserves the biggest trophy. 🏆😂

For anyone who knows us, you’ll know exactly who “the girls” are — and if you’ve ever heard Symon say it, you’ll know that’s what he calls us too. 😂

But jokes aside, Symon’s contribution to Stokes Valley FC goes far beyond “the girls” picking on him!

Symon cared.

He cared about the kids.
He cared about their football.
He cared about their experiences.
He cared about our coaches and families.
And he cared deeply about the future of Stokes Valley FC.

For five years, he has given countless hours, energy, ideas, passion and probably a few grey hairs along the way! 😂

He has been there to watch children take their very first steps onto a football field, and then watched those same children grow into confident young players.

He has helped create opportunities that didn’t exist before, pushed our junior club forward and worked hard to make sure the generations coming after us have an even better club to call home.

And that is a legacy worth celebrating. ❤️

So while we’re genuinely gutted to be losing Symon from the Junior Director role, we don’t want this post to be a sad goodbye.

We want it to be a THANK YOU. ❤️

Thank you, Symon, for five incredible years.

Thank you for the laughs, the crazy ideas, the hard work, the commitment, the late nights, the weekends and all the countless hours behind the scenes that most people never see.

Thank you for helping make Stokes Valley FC bigger, stronger and better.

Thank you for helping create a club where kids can play, grow, make friends, build confidence and create memories that they’ll carry with them for years to come.

And perhaps Crysta summed it up best:

“The majority of this committee, myself included, have never known Stokes Valley without you, so there is definitely going to be a Symon shaped hole in our club for a while.”

There are about 4,000 things we could say about you, some of which many of us probably never needed to know about you…

We will never look at a wētā the same way. 😂

And she’s right.

For so many of us, Symon has simply always been there. He has been part of the fabric of our junior club for the past five years, and his absence will be felt in ways we probably won’t fully realise until the season rolls around without him.

He will be missed. More than he probably realises. ❤️

Your fingerprints are all over this club, and the impact you have made will continue long after you step away from this role.

While we’re incredibly sad to see you go, we hope you look back on these five years and feel incredibly proud of what you’ve been a part of.

From First Kicks to U17s.
From tournaments to dunk tanks.
From big ideas to committee chaos.
From watching little kids take their first steps onto the field to helping build opportunities for those same kids as they grow.

Five years. Countless memories. One hell of a legacy. ❤️💛🖤

You may be stepping away from the Junior Director role, but you’ll always be part of the Stokes Valley junior FC family.

And don’t worry…

We’ll still find ways to pick on you. 😝😂

From all of us at SVJFC — thank you for everything, Symon. ❤️💛🖤

💦⚽️🔥 THE BIG ONE IS HERE! 🔥⚽️💦

🏊‍♂️ STOKES VALLEY JNR FOOTBALL CLUB END OF SEASON POOL PARTY! 🎉

What better way to celebrate an AWESOME season of football than by swapping the football boots for togs and hitting the pool?! 😎💦

📅 Saturday 19th September
⏰ 6:00pm – 8:00pm
📍 Stokes Valley Pool
🎟️ $10 per ticket

🎟️ GET YOUR TICKETS HERE! 👇

https://www.svfootball.org.nz/viewform/527483

And your ticket gets you ALL of this: 👇

💦 Entry to the pool
🏃‍♂️ Aqua run
🍕 Pizza
🥔 Chippies
🥤 A drink
🐟 A Chocolate Fish
⚽️ AND heaps of fun with your football mates!

This is our chance to celebrate every goal, every save, every early morning, every tough game and all the memories made along the way. ❤️💛🖤

So grab your togs, bring your biggest splash and get ready to FINISH THE SEASON WITH A BANG! 💦🔥

⸻

🙌 A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! 🙌

This event wouldn’t be possible without the incredible support of our sponsors, who continue to get behind our club and our kids.

🔧 Jarvis Plumbing & Gas

A massive thank you to Jarvis Plumbing & Gas for their generous sponsorship and for supporting Stokes Valley Junior Football Club. Your support helps us create awesome opportunities and experiences for our young players — and we’re incredibly grateful! ❤️💛🖤

🛒 New World Stokes Valley

Another HUGE thank you to New World Stokes Valley for your generous support of our pool party! Your support of our club and our community makes a huge difference, and we really appreciate everything you do for our young players. ❤️💛🖤

Please support the local businesses that support our kids and our club! 🙌

⸻

⚽️💦 LET’S GO, SV! 💦⚽️

Get those tickets sorted, tell your teammates and get ready for a night of splashing, racing, laughing, eating and celebrating! 🎉

ONE LAST PARTY. ONE AWESOME SEASON. ❤️💛🖤

⚽ Meet the Committee – Russell Page

Up next in our “Meet the Committee” series is Russell Page! ⚽️🙌

Russell is another of the team helping out behind the scenes at SVJFC, coaching our U10 Rooks and helping our junior football thrive.

Position: Junior Committee Member
Years at SVJFC: 4 years | Coaching: 2.5 years
Favourite Teams: Rooks & Ryan’s

Favourite thing about SVJFC:
I love how every player and every team looks out for each other. Whether it’s filling in when teams are short, coming together at training, or even inviting siblings and other kids watching to join in, there’s a real community spirit at SVJFC.

Role at the club:
I have two junior children playing at the club and take turns coaching their teams. As a committee member, I help out wherever I’m needed and often take care of event set-ups, gear sorting and other jobs as required.

About me:
Outside of football, I own my own building company and have been captain of the Stokes Valley senior rugby side for the past five years. With two kids playing football and my involvement in both the rugby and football clubs, I feel like I can help bring our local sporting community together.

I represented Otago in age-grade Touch Rugby and Tennis, and I feel my background across different sports brings a different dynamic to my coaching style. I enjoy trying to bring out the best in every child while giving them the opportunity to develop their own unique style of play.

Fun fact:
I have two cats and a dog, and I also have a Masters degree in “Dad-gineering”, specialising in turning random garage materials into prized family treasures—including building a massive playground in our own backyard! 🛝⚽️😂

I may not be the loudest person at the club (Symon), but I’m always there if anyone needs support—so please come say hi! 👋

🏆❤️💛🖤 JUNIOR PRIZEGIVING 2026 🖤💛❤️🏆

It’s time to celebrate our amazing junior players and everything they’ve achieved throughout the season! ⚽️👏

Join us for our Stokes Valley Junior Football Club Prizegivings as we celebrate our players, teams, coaches and all the hard work, commitment and fun that has made this season so special. 🏆🎉

📅 FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
⏰ 5:30pm – 6:30pm
⚽ U15 & U17 Teams

⸻

📅 SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER

⏰ 9:00am – 9:45am
⚽ U8 Teams: Sanders • McKay’s • Van Schaik’s • Dunn’s
⚽ U9 Teams: Whitehouse’s • Anthony’s • Ryan’s • O’Brien’s

⏰ 10:00am – 10:45am
⚽ U10: Shackleton’s • Weir’s • Rook’s
⚽ U11: Lockett’s • Perry’s

⏰ 11:00am – 11:45am
⚽ U11 Viper’s
⚽ U13 Shooter’s
⚽ U15 Queen’s

⏰ 12:00pm – 12:45pm
⚽ U12 Lion’s
⚽ U13 Cobra’s

🏆 Come along, cheer loud and help us celebrate our players! 🎉

Every player has contributed to their team and our club this season, and we can’t wait to recognise and celebrate them all. ❤️💛🖤

⚽️🏆 FIRST KICKS PRIZEGIVING – TONIGHT! 🏆⚽️

A little reminder that our First Kicks Prizegiving is happening TONIGHT at 5pm! ❤️💛🖤

Come along and celebrate our awesome little First Kicks players and all the fun they’ve had on the field this season! 🥳⚽️

📅 Tonight – Friday 28 August
⏰ 5:00pm
📍 Stokes Valley Football Club

We can’t wait to see all our First Kicks whānau there! ❤️💛🖤

See you tonight! ⚽️🏆

How awesome seeing Jess and Ryan on this list alongside so many other amazing young people from across the region! 🙌⚽️

A huge congratulations to everyone nominated — what a fantastic group of young leaders coming through our football community. ❤️💛🖤

Congratulations to the 24 talented young people selected for our Young Leaders Programme this October!

We received an outstanding number of applications and were incredibly impressed by the quality of this year’s applicants. The selected group has shown enormous potential, and we look forward to supporting them as they develop into future leaders within our sporting community.

The programme will take place on 5 and 6 October

🌟 Aspiring Young Leaders 🌟

We’re incredibly proud to have Jess and Ryan nominated for Capital Football’s Aspiring Young Leaders Programme! ❤️💛🖤

Jess has spent the past three seasons volunteering as a First Kicks coach, helping our youngest players fall in love with football. She also gives her time to referee junior games and is always willing to jump in and help wherever she’s needed.

Ryan stepped up into coaching for the first time this season, showing initiative, enthusiasm and a real desire to give back to the club. He’s already proving himself to be a positive, encouraging role model for our young players.

Both Jess and Ryan are fantastic examples of young people stepping up, giving back and helping shape the future of our club. We’re so proud of them and can’t wait to see where their leadership journeys take them! ⚽️❤️💛🖤

We also want to give a little shout-out to Tiana Betham, who is a former Stokes Valley Junior player!

Good luck Jess, Ryan and Tiana! 👏

⚽️🔥 PLAYERS OF THE DAY – WEEKS 9–14! 🔥⚽️

Okay… we may be a little bit behind on our Players of the Day posts! 😂🙈

The season has been flying by, and while we’ve been busy doing all the football things, our Players of the Day have continued to put in the mahi week after week.

So, it’s finally time to give these awesome players the recognition they deserve! 👏🏆

From Week 9 all the way through to Week 14, we have plenty of fantastic players to celebrate. Each of these players has stood out for their effort, attitude, teamwork, determination, skill and the way they’ve represented their team on the field. ❤️💛

A massive CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who has been named Player of the Day over these six weeks! 🌟

We might be playing catch-up with the posts, but we definitely haven’t forgotten about you! 😉

Now… let’s see all those awesome faces! 📸⚽️

🌟 A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO CRYSTA! 🌟

We’re incredibly proud to share that our very own Crysta has been selected for the Women in Football Leadership Programme! ⚽️👏

Crysta does so much behind the scenes for our club, always working hard to support our players, families and committee — so it’s fantastic to see her recognised with this amazing opportunity.

We’re so proud to have you representing Stokes Valley Junior Football Club, Crysta! ❤️💛🖤

Congratulations — you absolutely deserve it! 🙌⚽️

Introducing our 2026 Regional Women in Leadership cohort!

Congratulations to our 19 successful applicants, each nominated by someone in their community in recognition of the mahi they contribute to the game. They represent 15 clubs, two supported external organisations and Capital Football’s refereeing community.

The Regional Women in Leadership Programme supports wāhine to grow their confidence, leadership and impact across football and beyond. We’re proud of the mahi they already contribute and look forward to supporting them throughout the programme.

2026 Regional Women in Leadership Programme dates below:
📅 Saturday 31 October
📅 Saturday 7 November

⚽️ MEET THE COMMITTEE — SAMMIE! ⚽️

You know that person who says, “I can help with that”… and then somehow ends up doing 17 other things too?

Yeah. That’s me. 😂

Social media? Yep.
Events? Yep.
Fundraising? Yep.
Photos? Yep.
Random jobs that nobody else wants to do? Somehow, also yep. 😂

I’m one of the people behind the scenes helping keep things moving at SVJFC. Committee member, professional chaos enthusiast, and apparently very good at signing up for things that turn into much bigger jobs than expected. 😂❤️💛🖤

Position: Junior Committee Member
Years at SVJFC: 3 years
Favourite club: Aston Villa 💜🩵 & Stokes Valley JFC ❤️💛🖤
Favourite team: U9 Anthony’s

Favourite thing about SVJFC:
Without a doubt, it’s the kids. I love watching them play, seeing their personalities come out on the field, making friends and watching those friendships grow. There’s something really special about seeing kids come to football each week, have fun, build confidence and feel like they’re part of something. Seeing them grow — not just as footballers, but as people — it’s really special.

Role at the club:
I’m one of the people behind the scenes helping keep things moving! A big part of my role is social media and communications, but I’m also involved in organising and running events, fundraising, and all the random jobs that seem to pop up along the way. Basically, if there’s something that needs doing, I’m happy to jump in and help — including occasionally babysitting Symon! 😂

About me:
I came to SVJFC as a parent and somehow ended up getting completely involved! 😂 What started with helping out behind the scenes has grown into a real passion for helping make our club the best it can be. I’m definitely someone who finds it hard to sit back and watch when I know I can help.

Outside of football, I’m a mum of three, so life is pretty much always busy! 😂 I’ve spent the last 11 years as a stay-at-home mum, and these days I’m usually juggling family life with whatever project I’ve managed to get myself involved in next. There’s always something going on, and apparently I quite like the chaos! 😂

Fun fact:
I love cars and plants — my husband collects cars, I collect plants, and between us we’ve somehow managed to make “just one more” a very regular occurrence. 😂🚗🌿