Canterbury United Futsal Dragons - James Vallance

James' experience within the futsal space as a player stems back 15 years. He was part of two national league winning sides with the Canterbury United Futsal Dragons during that time. James has been coaching futsal for eight years and has been successful in both the youth space for Mainland and schools futsal winning three 16s youth titles and a 19s title. On top of that, James was lucky enough to have coached St Thomas of Canterbury to their first-ever secondary school national futsal title. Most recently, James took the University of Canterbury futsal side, where they came second at the National Tertiary Futsal Championship to Otago University on goal difference. 

James believes in creating an environment where there is a focus on winning and development. "A big part of coaching a Men's national league side is that it is important to win. Still, we need to find that balance between winning and development because the young players within the region that are coming through are showing a lot of talent."

Speaking on the role, James said, "This opportunity for me is so much more than just a coaching role. I love futsal, and I am super passionate about the sport in Canterbury. I have always just wanted to see it doing well. Having been involved in the game for a long time with Canterbury, I've seen the highs and the lows of playing, and I am so excited about the opportunity to bring back the highs to this fantastic franchise. I have Canterbury roots, I was born here, played here, and now I get to coach here. I can't wait to get down to the training court and start working with the players to see what we can achieve together!" 

Canterbury United Futsal Pride - Ronan Naicker 

Ronan has been working in futsal for the last eight years at Mainland Football and New Zealand Football. He has had the opportunity of being involved as a head coach in various levels of the game, from Canterbury United youth and senior teams to the New Zealand U18 women's team. 

Ronan said, "Canterbury has always strived to be successful as well as bring through and develop younger players. We hope to continue in that vein and provide a good platform for our players to improve and succeed.

I will work with a larger group of players for an extended period for the first time, and I’m excited about that. The change of format for the Women's Superleague allows us to develop a strong programme for Girls and Women's Futsal in the region and the country."

Article added: Tuesday 26 October 2021