The intention for this award was to recognise an outstanding female coach who has made an impact in our region in the period 2000-2025.

But the reality is that for a large part of the last 25 years, the coaches who have made a massive impact in the female space in our region have been men.

Our judging panel selected two coaches who have made a significant impact in our region. 

The first award is to a man who coached Claudelands Rovers to success, including leading them to win the national Knockout Cup, before heading overseas. 

The second is for a woman who has played at a high level herself, and continues to do significant work growing the women’s game.

The WaiBOP Awards Night 2025 was held on 18th October, 2025, in Hamilton. The evening celebrated winners from across the WaiBOP leagues from 2025, as well as a number of legacy awards, celebrating 25 years of WaiBOP Football.  

The legacy selections include players, referees and coaches who have made an impact between 2000-2025.

Dave Edmondson

Dave Edmondson was coaching in the men's game, at New Zealand National League level, when he was turned down for a role with NZ Football. He'd applied to be coach of the u17 national women’s team, and reached the last two, but missed out due to a lack of experience in the girls and women’s game.

He set about actively getting that experience, coaching the Claudeland Rovers women in a period some refer to as the "golden years". The very young Claudelands Rovers team won the National Knockout Cup (later named the Kate Sheppard Cup) in 2010, with future ferns Sarah McLaughlin, Holly Patterson and Olivia Chance in the side. 

Edmondson was then offered the NZF U17 Women's coach role. 

Professional opportunities arose in Australia with Adelaide United and then Melbourne Victory, winning the Women's A-League in 2013-14. He's coached Bristol in the  English Super League and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

He is currently based in Switzerland.

Tarena Ranui

Tarena Ranui has developed as a coach over the last decade in the Waikato region, and has had - and continues to have - a significant impact on many girls and women across the region. 

Ranui started coaching initially as a way to spend more time with her children while they were participating in sport. 

She coached junior girls at Northern United before moving into youth and senior coaching at Melville United.

Ranui now leads the Senior Women, the Under-18 Women, and the Female Talent Development Programme at Melville United. She regularly coaches multiple teams in a single season.

She was NZ Football's Junior Coach of the Year in 2019 and is currently Women's Development Coach for Auckland FC. 

In 2021 she was selected for Te Hāpaitanga, a Women’s Coach Development initiative by HPSNZ, recognising her potential in women’s high-performance coaching. 

Her coaching philosophy emphasises building positive relationships with female players and creating healthy environments for girls to transition into adulthood via sport. 
 

Article added: Thursday 06 November 2025