About

About Jeremy

JBF was born out of a passion for Jeremy to give back
to the game that has given him so much.

Playing Career

Jeremy got to live his dream of being a professional football player for over 15 years, making his debut as a young 17 year old in the inaugural season of the A-League.

Jeremys club career saw him play in 3 different continents and numerous clubs, winning league titles, cup trophies and a number of personal accolades along the journey.

Jeremy’s represented New Zealand 51 times and achieved a dream that only a few Kiwis have managed to do in the history of the sport – play in a FIFA World Cup. Jeremy proudly took the field in the 2010 World Cup against Paraguay. In addition to this, he was involved in another 2 World Cup qualifying campaigns and played in the 2009 Confederations Cup.

Olympian number 1005, Jeremy made history by becoming the first Kiwi to ever score at an Olympic games when he competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Passion for Coaching

Throughout his playing career Jeremy has always had on his mind wanting to give back to the game. During his time spent playing in South Africa he established a number of coaching clinics. This fuelled his desire to start an academy when he finished playing.

Jeremy has a real passion for youth development and he aims to not only give players the tools to become the best player they can be but to be a mentor and guide players to become better people in everyday life. Jeremy is very excited for the next step in his career and after growing up in a similar sized town in New Zealand facing similar challenges that kids in the NQ region come across, he can’t wait to get started.

JBF Vision

Ever since Jeremy become a professional footballer at the age of 17, he knew then that when he finished playing, he would give back to the game that has given him so much joy and so many memories.

Developing and mentoring kids is something that brings a huge smile to Jeremy’s face. Every coach loves seeing a ball fly into the top corner or a perfectly timed tackle to stop an attack, but the joy does not stop there for Jeremy. He loves the little moments – where the nervous, shy child turns up to a session not wanting to let go from the safety of mum or dad’s hands to a couple of weeks later seeing that same child jumping from the car before mum or dad turns it off to get onto the field to start kicking the ball around.

This is the type of culture and environment that will provide the foundation for Jeremy Brockie Football – a fun, safe and inclusive environment where coaches build relationships with every child involved in the academy.

JBF aims to create better players on and off the pitch through trust and respect of both teammates and coaches. At every training, coaches will greet players on arrival, where they want to see an enthusiasm and positive energy to start training. Showing this attitude radiates to teammates where we will then start to see the bonding of players and a hardworking, willing-to-learn attitude.

JBF welcomes any player that is looking to develop their football skills, no matter where they currently are in their footballing journey.

Meet the coaches

Jeremy has been running programs around the NQ region since September 2021 and throughout these programs he’s been able to have some fantastic coaches by his side to not only deliver the programs but to help build an environment and culture that Jeremy wants JBF to represent in the region.

It’s with great excitement that Jeremy is able to announce the following coaches to be a part of the 2023 coaching team.

Kirsty O’Connor

I’m a local high school teacher who lives and breathes football. I have been playing football now for 17 years and coaching for the past 6 years.

I currently have my skill and game training certificate and have coached both NQ representative teams and district school teams.

I was a coach in the inaugural JBF teams that travelled up to Cairns to play in the FNQ Youth Cup and loved the experience and what JBF brings to the region.

I love coaching because I love seeing the development of the kids as they progress through the season. I get so much joy out of seeing kids achieve their goals and wanting to better themselves each and every day. 

Ben Richardson

Hello, I’m Ben, and I’m excited to be part of the JBF academy. I’ve been playing this game since I was 6, and have been fortunate enough to have played with, against, and coached by some amazing people.

I am from New Zealand, having played all my junior football there, I worked hard and found myself representing NZ in selected age group teams (U15 & U19) allowing me to travel across to countries such as Canada and South Korea for tours.

After finishing high school I then chased the dream of becoming a professional footballer in both the UK and Australia, playing semi-pro for many years.

Townsville has been my home for almost 8 years. Being able to offer some insight and experience to younger generations, helping develop the region into a football hub it deserves to be is very exciting.

I’ve seen this town produce some amazing talent over the years, being part of something like this, having the ability to coach those wanting to take their skills to the next level and compete against others in similar age groups is exciting for not only the players, but parents, and coaches as well.

Paul Kohler

Hi, I am Paul Kohler. I’m 43 years old and have been living in Townsville for six years. I grew up in Sydney and started playing football at five years old and still enjoying playing the beautiful game today.

I joined the JBF academy with plenty of football experience. I played professionally for 10 years in the NSL and A-League with Sydney Olympic, Newcastle Jets and North Queensland Fury.

I have a passion for football and I absolutely love playing, watching and coaching the game. I’m extremely excited to be a coach for JBF.

My goal is to help young footballers develop and refine their skills as well as growing the game in the North Queensland region. I believe JBF provides an excellent environment for player development and offers opportunities for players to maximise their potential.

Alex Van Akkeren

Hi, my name is Alex and I’m very excited to have been approached by Jeremy to assist with his football academy in Townsville.

I started playing football as a 7 year old in Holland before moving to Townsville when I was 11, and have been involved in the Townsville football community ever since.

As a player I’ve played at the highest level in Townsville before a serious knee injury disrupted my playing career. I have been involved in coaching juniors for the past 8 years, having coached both my sons’ teams over that time.

As a coach I am committed to fostering a positive team environment and helping footballers achieve their maximum potential.
I was looking for ways to give back to a community that has given me so much over the past 25+ years and I was stoked when this opportunity presented itself.

Due to my work commitments, I am only available to assist the academy on a part time basis. In saying that, I’m excited to have an opportunity to work alongside some of Townsville’s best coaches to assist the next generation of NQ footballers and develop that local talent.

Sports Physiology

JBF is excited to be able to offer a Sports Conditioning and Injury Prevention program for the High Performance squads and this will be overseen by leading physiotherapist Paul Parker. Jeremy and Paul Parker’s friendship started back in 2009 in the North Queensland Fury days where Paul was the teams head physio. Jeremy says “I’m very excited to have Paul Parker and Sportsmed NQ on board with JBF to help with the sports science side of the program.

Back in 2010 in a rush against time to be selected in the NZ World Cup squad, Paul’s attention to detail and hard work around the clock with my rehab from a broken leg allowed me to achieve my dream. The players involved in this program are going to benefit immensely from Paul’s experience to allow the players to keep fit and injury free.

Paul Parker

Director and founder of Sportsmednq

Strong interest in Sports and Orthopaedic Physiotherapy as well as development of the athlete as well as preventative programs for injury prevention.

Past Sports involvement

Team physiotherapist for National Sporting Teams Basketball (12yrs) Townsville crocs
A-League NQ Fury
Townsville Fire
Junior Qld Country and Metro teams
Junior Qld Country and Metro teams
Commitment to player development and condition in conjunction with high performance program