Coaching Staff
Garbhan Coughlan
Director of Football

Role: Director of Football 

Qualifications: BA in English Literature, OFC B-Licence, Junior Level 3

Background: Born in Limerick, Ireland. I grew up playing football with my brothers and friends. I played schoolboy football right up until I was 14 in Limerick before signing for a club in Cork until I was 16. At 16, I signed my first professional deal with Limerick FC and played there for 8 years in the League of Ireland. I also had a couple of loan spells to Athlone Town FC during this time. In my time in the League of Ireland, I won the League of Ireland First Division three times, 2012, 2013 and 2016. In 2015 I represented Ireland in the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea where the team finished 5th. I played for Ireland U18 as a schoolboy. 

In 2017 I moved to Dunedin to play for Southern United and work for Football South. I spent 3 years there, where I got my OFC C-Licence and scored the most goals for Southern United in the National League. In 2019 I joined CTFC to play with their First Team and coach in the Academy. In 2020, I moved to Christchurch to work as Community Development Officer for Mainland Football. In 2021, I got my OFC B-Licence and I became the Director of Football here at CTFC. My aim in football is to share the knowledge I have been lucky enough to gather in my time in the sport. I want to try and help players reach their full potential and fall in love with the sport. 

Lyle Matthysen
Community Football Development Officer

Role: Community Football Development Officer 

Qualifications: Junior Level 1, 2 & 3

Experience

Background: I was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. My family and I moved here in 2004. I attended Beckenham Primary then moved on to Cashmere High school. 

I played for Cashmere Wanderers before moving to Woolston Technical

Shane Verma
Women's First Team Head Coach

Role: WPL Head Coach

Qualifications:  OFC A-Licence

Experiences: National Women’s League: 3 Years as Canterbury United Pride Asst. Coach, 1 year as Northern Lights Ass. Coach, 1 year as Northern Lights Head Coach.

NTC/National Camps: U14, U15 Men, U14, U15, U16, U20 Women

Background of yourself: I’m very fortunate that I’ve met a lot of great people on my coaching journey, who have helped and mentored me along the way. As a Head Coach I’ve always surrounded myself with people that are full of knowledge and great people. My coaching journey started at Halswell United and spent a few years coaching junior and youth teams, followed by a few of seasons coaching the men’s reserves side.

Following that I joined up at Coastal Spirit with their men’s reserve side, Mainland Football’s FTC programme with the boys. During that time I coached the U17 girls side for one of the South Island Tournaments. What started off as observing a few sessions for Pride eventually led to a role in the backroom staff for three seasons.

During my last two years in Christchurch I joined Waimak United as their FDM and WPL coach. The highlights over those two seasons was winning the U17 National Tournament and the Rita Fitzpatrick. After Waimak, I moved to Northern Football Federation as the Assistant Coach for the Northern Lights, before eventually taking the role of Head Coach. During this time I also worked fulltime as the Player Development Coordinator and Area Manager before eventually joining NZF as the Community Pathway Manager and relocating back to Christchurch.  

Duncan Reed
Women's First Team Assistant Coach and GK Coach

Role: WPL Assistant Coach and Goalkeeper Coach
Qualifications: OFC Goalkeeper C-license
Experiences: Canterbury United Pride Goalkeeper Coach 2014-present, NZ u20 Goalkeeper Coach 2018-present, NZ Football Ferns Goalkeeper Coach 2018-present
Background: I began playing football at a young age and picked the gloves up in my early teens, playing as a goalkeeper for 15 years. While playing, I was also given the opportunity to do some coaching with young goalkeepers and began working with Mainland Football and their goalkeeper academy.My passion for coaching soon became my priority in football, wanting to help others on their footballing journey. I have since worked in many different environments, primarily in the women’s game, beginning as a goalkeeper coach with the Mainland Pride as they were formerly known, then into the WPL as an assistant coach with Waimakiriri United. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to join the NZ u20 women’s coaching staff and travel to the 2018 Women’s World Cup and onto the Football Ferns. I have met many great people on my coaching journey and they have provided me the opportunity to keep giving back to the game, which I hope to keep doing for years to come.

Sophie Hartshaw
Girls TDP Academy Coach

Role: 16s TDP Girls Academy team Head Coach

Background of Yourself: I have played for Tech since I was 5 years old and have loved every minute of it! Over the past four years I have coached a range of Girls Teams from 10th-14th Grade for CTFC. Recently I have been given the opportunity to Assist Coaching our Girls Under 17s Auckland Tournament Team. For several years I have also helped to coach our Academy Development Programme. I've completed a number of Junior and Youth Coaching Qualifications and am currently working on completing my OFC C License. I am super excited for the opportunity to take our first Girls Academy Team this season and hope to inspire and support the girls in their football development pathways. TFL!

Role

Qualifications

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Background



Role

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Experience

Background

Sam O'Neill
Head of Strength and Conditioning

Role: High Performance and Academy Strength and Conditioning Coach

Qualifications: BSci – University of Canterbury, GradDip Sport & Exercise Science – Ara Institute of Canterbury

Experiences: Canterbury United Pride Strength & Conditioning Coach 2018-Present

Background: I began my journey in football playing as a young child. After playing all the way through school and developing a passion for the game I found myself away from the sport for around 10 years after finding success in volleyball. I followed that pathway, both playing and coaching for around 15 years. After struggling with injuries, I began the journey of Sport and Exercise Science and Strength and Conditioning with a particular goal of helping athletes handle the rigors of sports.

After finishing my studies, I found myself thankfully back in the game of football as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Canterbury United Pride where I have been for the last 5 years. I feel privileged to join the CTFC family and aim to help build an environment that fosters a player-first focus for health and performance.