The 46-year-old manages not one but three football teams, and her hard work of the past decade has been rewarded with an unexpected bonus.
She has been named the Otago volunteer of the month and receives a $500 gift voucher from Lotto.
It is an initiative from Lotto and Sport New Zealand to help recognise volunteers who contribute so much to local sport.
Whittaker is just the second Otago recipient and said the award was a nice surprise. She got involved in football when her children, Chelsea (17) and Liam (15), took up the sport about 10 years ago.
Whittaker manages two Dunedin Technical Club teams and has recently been appointed as manager of the women's national league team.
''There is just not enough people volunteering for clubs and the last thing I wanted to be was one of those parents who sat on the sidelines and had a lot to say but didn't walk the walk,'' Whittaker said.
''I just love it. I wouldn't do it otherwise.''
Dunedin Technical put her name forward and in its submission wrote: ''She is very diligent and well organised. [She] manages the teams in a very professional manner and the girls find her very approachable at all times, especially the out-of-town students who see her as their Dunedin mum.''
