Football coaches from around the lower South Island spent a day in their players' boots - figuratively speaking - when Rob Sherman visited town at the weekend.
Sherman, the New Zealand Football technical director, ran more than 30 coaches from as far away as Timaru and Invercargill through training methodology at a Dunedin workshop.
Sherman's playing career started as a young professional at Cardiff City as a left winger, although he readily admits he ''didn't set the world alight'' and was playing non-league football by the time he was in his early 20s.
''You certainly took some learnings from that - both in your own shortcomings and the shortcomings of others, perhaps,'' he said.
''Maybe some better coaching might have made a difference when I was younger.''
The workshop, which came on the back of formal coaching qualification courses run by New Zealand Football earlier this year, looked to filter the national body's coaching approach down through the youth and senior grades.
''Really, we want to get our national philosophy in playing style out there - that's one message,'' he said.
''The other message is we want to get the coaching methodology and coaching process standardised so we're all talking the same language and developing decision-making players."
New Zealand Football's Whole Of Football plan has been a big success at the junior level, and Sherman hopes a formalised coaching approach at the youth level will help create smarter players on the field.
''Hopefully, now we can implement the youth framework which will really give the next step to those 12-year-olds coming into the youth section,'' he said.
''I think we need to work harder with our coaches, and worldwide, you need to recognise that coaching is a skill and a profession in itself.''
Sherman was hopeful the coaches at the Dunedin workshop would go back to their teams with the big picture in mind.
''I hope they're enthused, first of all. Hopefully, they look at it and go, 'We're part of a big team.' It's team New Zealand, if you like, and we're all batting on the same side and they want to be part of it.
''Hopefully, they go back and work with their players as enthusiastically as they always do but with a few more ideas on top.''
Sherman, who is Welsh, assisted the Canadian national women's team for the London Olympics, and was the head of coach education in Australia for three years.
He also had a technical director role with Wales and worked with the Welsh under-16 side when future superstar Gareth Bale was in the squad.
He is excited about the Under-20 World Cup being hosted on our shores, particularly with some of the rising stars in the teams.
''They might not be absolutely established but they're the next generation of world stars.
''It will be a fantastic event. It will be a chance for the game here to establish some real contact with world football and we should be taking advantage of it.''
