Paul Wezenbeek

Hi Waitemata FC Family,  

At our recent AGM, Conan McKinstry, our Club President for the past 5 years has stood down, and I, Paul Wezenbeek have been voted in as your new Club President, so I wanted to introduce myself and let you know a little bit about me. 

Waitemata is a huge part of my life. I first started playing here as a 6-year-old in 1989, playing every season through my Junior and Youth years, working my way into the Men’s 1st team at age 17 in 2000, playing up until 2009. In my time playing in the Men’s 1st team I was lucky enough to earn the honour of being Captain for many games, and also being awarded multiple Player of the year awards, which is something I am still proud of to this day, and I see these as evidence of the hard work and commitment I have always had for Waitemata.

In those years I also coached a young team for their 9th and 10th Grade seasons, which I really enjoyed, opening another area of the game for me to get involved in. 

In 2010 I moved across to Te Atatu FC for 2 seasons (please don’t judge me too harshly for that) to play for their 1st team until in 2012 I stepped away from football due to work commitments and to spend more time with my wife Nikki and our young family.  

In the 30 years I was playing at Waitemata, my dad Nick spent many years on the Committee, including a few years as Chairman, eventually becoming a Life Member of our club for his many years of continuous service.Unlike most kids who go to the club just to train and play games, I spent many, many hours there when I was growing up, making Waitemata FC a huge part of my life and who I am. 

In 2019, my eldest daughter Ruby and son Braxtyn both decided they wanted to play football, and there was only ever one club that I was taking them too - that club was Waitemata!Being down there again felt like I had returned home and it did not take long to get myself involved with coaching and refereeing teams. At the end of the kids first season I found myself joining the Committee, being on it ever since, including being Club Secretary for the last 3 years.

In the 2025 season all 3 of my kids are now playing for Waitemata (Ruby 15th Grade Wildcats, and Women’s Reserves on Sundays, Braxtyn 13th Grade Red Knights, and Madisyn 10th Grade Red Pandas) with me being co-coach of Ruby and Braxtyn’s teams. 

Being new to the Club President role, I can’t guarantee that I will get everything right, but as people who know me will confirm, I will always give 100% to do what is right for our club and our members and continue to help our club reach its full potential. With the support of the Committee members, Players and all the amazing families that make up our club, I am excited to see what we can do as a club moving forward. 

If you have any questions about anything, have ideas or suggestions on what the club could do better, or wish to volunteer your time to help in anyway, please don’t hesitate to email me at president@waitematafc.org.nz and I will see what I can do to assist.  

I look forward to getting to know you all better in the near future. Paul