The 27-year-old is one of 19 candidates who spent over two weeks at OFC Academy in Penrose, Auckland in December 2012 taking part in the training programme of the first-ever OFC B Licence.
The B Licence is the highest coaching level currently offered by OFC. Humphries final assessment was overseen by OFC head of coach education Didier Chambaron and had her running a session on doing movement interchange in the mid to attacking third.
“I looked at three categories of movements and interchange that I wanted to see. One set of wide combinations, one through the middle of the pitch and finally combination and movement in the attacking line,” Humphries says.
“I enjoyed it, but it was hard. I didn’t have all the players I’ve been working with so that made it more difficult for the assessment, it’s always easier when you are coaching a team where you are familiar with all the players. The OFC and UEFA instructors were great throughout the course, and the assessment followed exactly what we learnt through the B Licence – so everything that was covered was looked for in the assessment.”
And she says the feedback she received from Chambaron was positive.
“He recognised that I have been doing a lot of work and I feel I’ve progressed massively since my first session on that B Licence,” she says.
“He also mentioned my rapport with the players is really good, and I think that’s because I’m feeling more comfortable delivering those sorts of sessions.”
Chambaron says you really only learn to be a coach by doing the job so it’s important to highlight that the training programme in December 2012 was just a starting point for all of the participants.
“The OFC B Licence is a year-long process and for me Emma is certainly the best role model for all coaches who want to make progress and make football their job,” he says.
“Passion for the game and involvement are the key to success and Emma has the required behaviour both on and off the field.
“Another critical aspect of coaching is the coach’s ability to analyse the situation. Through continuous reflection upon past experiences as well as having a deeper understanding of the principles of the game, Emma has been able to improve a lot in this area.”
Since spending 16 days under the tutelage of Chambaron and UEFA technical instructor Steve Rutter Humphries has taken on an impressive workload as she built up to the final assessment.
“I’ve been quite lucky with the amount of coaching I’ve been able to do since the course,” Humphries says.
“It’s the most I’ve ever done and I guess coming away from a 16-day course like the B Licence you just want to get your hands on everything so I’ve probably taken on more than ever – maybe even too much at the moment.”
And it’s no surprise Humphries is feeling the pressure of trying to maintain all her commitments.
As well as a day job that has her overseeing and supporting women’s football activities around the country she has also been acting in a support role to New Zealand U-17 coach Jitka Klimkova five to six nights a week, coaching her own Northern FTC team twice a week and was an assistant coach to her Northern League club team.
But with all the benefits she expects to reap from everything she learnt during the course Humphries believes it is worth all the effort.
“My time in the office is quite precious anyway because I have to be around the whole country with Women’s Football and supporting the regions,” Humphries says.
“On top of that my role consists of maybe only five per cent coaching, so I was incredibly lucky that New Zealand Football allowed me to take 16 days out, and it’s awesome that they viewed it as professional development like that.
Humphries says with New Zealand Football’s future plans for the women’s game it is more important than ever for her to continue to build and improve her skill set in any way that will help the organisation.
“We’re going to be developing a women’s mentoring programme and a recruitment strategy so the more I know in the field – the more I can help support the strategy,” she says.
“Having been through the process myself, when speaking to women about entry into our mentoring programmes I kind of know what I am talking about. I know what the course will be like, I know how you feel when you’re entering the room, when delivering your first session and hopefully that helps me to tailor a programme that can reduce some of the barriers specific to women.
“I think the reality of being the only female in the room, or maybe just one of three compared with 30 people on a course, is always going to be what it is at the upper levels. So now, knowing how I felt and looking at others experiences I think we can help the next ones coming through.”

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