As a young, aspiring footballer Chris Marsh remembers biking to the Invercargill Library where he was able to find exactly one book about goalkeeping.

But despite growing up about as far away from the capitals of the footballing world as it’s possible to go, and without the benefit of YouTube or satellite television, Marsh was able to forge his own path to international football - first as a player and now as a coach. 

The former New Zealand under 23 and All Whites stopper settled back in Invercargill nearly a decade ago after a career which also included a couple of seasons in the Australian league with the Auckland-based Football Kingz. 

He coaches young ‘keepers around the country and has been developing his craft during 2020 through Academy Southland’s Coach Performance programme. 

Marsh said the appeal of the two-year programme was the chance to meet aspiring coaches from a range of codes. 

"You can get stuck going to the same courses and seeing the same people, so it’s good to hear different perspectives from different sports,” he said. 

Marsh, a teacher at Southland Boys’ High School, would love to coach professionally, but he would probably have to leave New Zealand to achieve that goal. 

A career highlight came last year when he was part of the New Zealand coaching group at the FIFA Under 17 World Cup, won by home team Brazil.

New Zealand also played warm-up games against China, Argentina and Brazil. Those games against powerhouse nations on their own turf were fantastic experiences, Marsh said. 

“A lot of those boys will go onto bigger things. Two have already signed professional contracts to play in Sweden and quite a chunk of them are at the Phoenix, so those sort of experiences will give them a great chance of advancing in the world game.” 

Marsh reflects fondly on what he was able to achieve as a player. 

“I’ve been lucky in some respects, but I just enjoyed the game. I just wanted to work hard and I enjoyed the training. Kenny Cresswell was the original top-level footballer from down here and he’d made it all the way to a World Cup, so he’d broken that ceiling. 

“I never thought I’d reach the heights I did, but (Kenny) coached me and so I knew that he was a real-life person. I played with him and I knew he’d been to a World Cup and I’d watched those games. That’s powerful modelling.” 

Marsh remembers talking to Cresswell before heading to a crucial qualifying match against South Africa; a place in the Sydney Olympics at stake. 

“I was still playing down here and frankly I was scared and a bit worried about the world stage and whether I’d be able to compete. He just looked me in the eye and told me I’d do well. I don’t know whether he was making it up, or whether he believed that, but the result was that I actually did do well and from there I got a professional contract,” he said. 

“I guess as a coach I think of a young me and I think if I can give them some of the things I learned the hard way, then they’ve got a better chance. Wouldn’t it be great if someone could kick on and play beyond me and be as successful as Kenny was, because he played 50 games for the All Whites and went to a World Cup – that's the standard and it’s a pretty high one.” 

The expectations on goalkeepers had changed a great deal from when Marsh started out standing under a crooked crossbar at Teviot St stopping goals for Old Boys. 

“You are no longer the overweight, uncoordinated one, you have to be an outfielder with gloves. The expectations are quite outrageous, but the kids coming through, and that includes the ones down here, understand the technical side of the game better than I did. They are exposed to better coaching, exposed to more football through the media.” 

Article added: Friday 04 December 2020