After a lot of hard work behind the scenes, the Dunedin City Royals have launched the Royals Academy to help develop top footballers in Otago.
It might have only been running for five weeks, but the academy — which has ties to the Wellington Phoenix in the lower grades — has already attracted 145 players from across the region.
Scoullar, a stalwart of Otago football who has spent the past four years with Wellington’s Ole Football Academy in Wanaka, has big dreams for the academy, which is open to players from all clubs not just Royals.
"We’re doing this for the best of the town, and the region," Scoullar said.
"It was either now or never, I felt.
"I’m glad the club has got great vision. It’s got great personality and it’s got great coaches and great families.
"Without the players and the families, we can’t drive it."
The academy runs for 10 and a-half months of the year and caters for all age groups.
The Royals x Phoenix pre-academy caters for younger age groups in two sections: under-9s and under-8s and under-10s and under-11s for both boys and girls.
The partnership with the Phoenix was massive and allowed the Phoenix to watch talent in the South Island closely and identify players early on.
"Sometimes the South Island is left behind, if I’m being honest, and I’ve been in that same boat through my time through the national teams.
"You do get left behind unless you’re playing a level to be seen.
"Hopefully we can expose our kids and players and the Dunedin players that come in from even outside the club."
The Royals academy also had R13 (under-13) and R15 (under-15) groups, a combined girls under-14 and under-16 group, and an under-17 and under-19 men's group.
The men’s group included some Southern League players and those teenagers who were already playing premier men’s football.
It made for a "pretty hectic" four-day schedule, but it was also very rewarding, Scoullar said.
He felt lucky to be joined by classy coaches Danny Ledwith, Graeme Smaill, Richard Murray, Craig Ferguson, Tim Horner, Phil Collings and Alex Boomer.
"You probably can’t better [the lineup] anywhere around ... the lower South especially," Scoullar said.
"I think we rival some of the coaching staff in Christchurch, even."
Scoullar is passionate about player development and felt the academy was an important tool in helping Dunedin move forward.
"We’re a little bit behind in Dunedin.
"We’re probably five years behind Christchurch and maybe 10 years behind the North Island ... maybe even more so in Auckland."
Scoullar hoped to be able to bring more top level Royals men and women players into the club for juniors to look up to and see the future.
It was important the club created an ethos with clear pathways to help players reach Dunedin premier teams or go even further.
"That’s the other thing.
"Obviously we want to try and help our players on to better environments because we can’t be selfish and hold on to players.
"If they’re good enough to go, we need to open doors for them and get them on their journey."
Equally it was important the academy did not lose sight of creating good footballers and keeping them in the sport.
"We want to build technically good players for the future that stay in the game because a lot of players get lost to the football world.
"We want to try and keep them in the game a little bit longer, and maybe if they enjoy their football more, then they’ll stay in the game."
