When the hunt was on for regional nominations for the 2012 Sport Volunteer Awards, some quite remarkable characters suddenly found themselves under an unaccustomed spotlight. They were more used to dishing out pearls of wisdom to their sporting charges than experiencing a public gaze.
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When coaches set out to build a team of youngsters they try to inspire and teach techniques in the hope that they will get through to those who might one day be champions or, at the least, gain some life lessons. But it’s not just the message that the young minds absorb as the coaches [...]
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On any given weekend, heads bob in the surf at New Zealand’s beaches and look from afar like little more than anonymous dots in the briny. But there’s a select group of athletes who dote on them as a duck fusses over ducklings.
More →It may or may not be instructive to read on Wikipedia’s entry on New Zealand football that the page dedicated to women’s football is a scant four paragraphs. Men’s pages, other than just lists of players and results, proliferate. Things, though, are changing and Wikipedia, let’s not forget, is as accurate as the last person [...]
More →When spring arrives this year a long-time Hawke’s Bay gymnastics coach will qualify for a pensioner’s Gold card that will grant her free bus trips. That’s fine except that she spends so much time at the gymnasium, administering and coaching that she will almost never be out on the streets to catch a free bus [...]
More →On Brendon Cameron’s desk there’s a para-cycling rule book about an inch thick. He says it took him about three years to master the intricacies of para-cycling; knowledge he used to help Phillipa Gray and Laura Fairweather to a brace of gold, silver and bronze medals in tandem cycling at the recent London Paralympics.
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Swimming coach Simon Mayne says the relationship between athlete and coach is more important than anything else.
If there’s a common thread that links sports coaches of any code and at any level, it’s that they need to get on with their charges. It’s not a case of bellowing and being obeyed, it’s a relationship [...]
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It was arguably New Zealand’s greatest ever Olympic Games and the athletes are rightly receiving all the praise they are due. But a key part of performing at this elite level is having the right coaching support behind you. Most athletes will have their own personal coaches at home and while some of these coaches [...]
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Many coaches dream of one day being a leading performance coach and earning their living doing what they love most. But the life of a professional coach is not necessarily all beer and skittles. In this article learn about the challenges facing Paul Strang, the coach of the Auckland Aces cricket team, as he prepares [...]
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Kids sport is a crucial part of Kiwi culture. Just drive around any part of New Zealand on a Saturday morning and you can’t help but feel good as you see all of the children out there having fun with their parents and family supporting them. But this would never happen without all those passionate [...]
More →Netball New Zealand CoachForce Manager Adrienne Morrin was awarded a 2011 Prime Minister’s Scholarship from SPARC. The scholarship allowed her to spend four days with Skill Acquisition Specialist Damian Farrow, in Australia.
Farrow has worked with a wide range of sub-elite and elite level Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) programs and National Sporting [...]
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New Zealand Cricket’s new Director of Cricket John Buchanan is making some formative changes to the way the sport is run in this country.
The former Australian National Coach, Buchanan took up the new role in May. Based in Christchurch, he reports to NZC’s Chief Executive and is the architect of their new high performance [...]
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Andrej Lemanis is an Australian who Kiwis love. His six seasons coaching the SKYCITY New Zealand Breakers, culminating with their first Australian NBL championship title, have made him synonymous with New Zealand basketball.
As head coach Lemanis has steadily guided the Breakers up the Aussie NBL table from near the bottom to [...]
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You’ll have noticed that New Zealand is currently hosting one of the world’s biggest sporting events – Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011).
While most people are focusing on who’s likely to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) is looking at how it can use this golden [...]
More →When six Kiwi swimmers return home from an Olympic Games having won eight gold medals between them, it’s something special.
Even more so when you consider the challenges they and their support teams have overcome to reach that pinnacle. Those challenges are something Dave Burrowes, the head coach of the Special Olympics New Zealand swim [...]
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When the Canterbury Magicians women’s cricket team took out the Action Twenty20 Cup recently, it was just reward for three years of dedication by their coach Steve Cunis.
“It’s been a great result, and really reflects the hard work the girls have put in this season,” Cunis says.
Cunis has a strong [...]
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Simply put, netball runs through Leigh Gibbs’ veins.
She was an influential figure as a player – a member of the national team for nine years and captain of the side which won the world title in Glasgow in 1987.
She’s now proving equally prolific in her coaching career. Gibbs has coached across the netball [...]
More →Volunteer Coach Awards
The SPARC Volunteer Coach Awards are how SPARC recognises and pays tribute to the thousands of volunteer coaches around the country, who collectively contribute so much to New Zealand sport.
Clubs, parents, athletes or other sideline supporters nominate volunteer coaches they believe have made a special contribution to grassroots sports by completing [...]
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New Zealand 7s coach Gordon Tietjens, or ‘Titch’ as he is commonly known, really needs no introduction. Regarded as the top 7s coach in the world, Titch is renowned for his ability to spot talent and lead the New Zealand 7s team (often made up of fresh players) to victory on the 7s [...]
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New Zealand brought home a total of 36 medals from the Commonwealth Games. We spoke to some of the coaches who brought home the medals: Tim Carswell (track cycling), Raylene Bates (athletics), Anthony Ricketts (squash), Didier Poppe (shot put) and Ruth Aitken (netball).
Tim Carswell, Track Cycling – one gold medal, five silver and three [...]
More →Mark Hager was one of Australia’s greatest hockey players, with 179 goals under his belt from more than 230 test matches. He is also the proud owner of a bronze medal he won competing at the Atlanta Olympics in August 1996, playing for the Australian Men’s Team.
“I’ve been coaching since I reached senior playing level [...]
More →Brett Reid, Coaching Director for Triathlon New Zealand
Brett’s role sees him working closely with triathlon coaches around the country, providing development opportunities and helping them identify what they need to do to meet the needs of their athletes and the sport. A key part of his role is establishing a meaningful and challenging coach [...]
More →“I was 19 when I started coaching the kids at Taradale High School,” says Dave. “That led me to St Peter’s in Cambridge, where I’ve lived for the past nine years, then on to Sacred Heart and Hamilton Boys.”
Dave’s coaching career has seen him working at an international level, with his athletes competing at [...]
More →Without the tireless efforts of these volunteers, it is hard to imagine how community support would survive in our country. And it’ll come as no surprise to hear that every single one of New Zealand’s high profile sports people have experienced the benefits of a volunteer coach at some point in their career.
Coaches are [...]
More →Pat Barwick from Sport Canterbury has a wealth of experience in administration and coaching, having coached various hockey teams at different levels, including the New Zealand women’s team at the Barcelona Olympics.
Recently, Pat kept hearing the word ‘mentor’ being used around the coach development scene and found that people didn’t quite understand what [...]
More →When Siobhan Lapthorne visited New Zealand from Australia on holiday back in 2005, she fell in love with the place. So when an opportunity came up to apply for a position with Equestrian Sports New Zealand (ESNZ), she jumped at the chance.
“I saw this job was open so I thought I’d have a look [...]
More →“As a Cantabrian, it’s my duty to accept nothing but the best and that’s to go for the top job,” says Todd Blackadder about his role as Head Coach of the Crusaders.
Todd puts his passion for coaching down to the fact that he’s had some fantastic coaches throughout his playing career.
“I feel like [...]
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Ben Valentine was born in Nelson to parents who both played basketball, so it’s no surprise that he’s ended up living and breathing the sport.
“I grew up in Nelson, the basketball mecca of New Zealand,” says Ben. “It was a natural choice to play since my parents were already involved and it [...]
More →Peter Russell never planned to become a rugby coach at such an early age, but didn’t squelch at the idea either.
“I’d been coaching the club rugby colts teams for a couple of years after the premier season had finished when, during the pre-season, one of the head coaches suggested I had the skills [...]
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