It is no secret that the Bay of Plenty has been recognised as a national nursery of champions. When it comes to main stream sports such as rugby, our provincial team isn’t exactly a traditional powerhouse like Canterbury. But we don’t really recruit players from outside of the region like the Canterbury rugby system does. One could argue they are strong because their current backbone of players comes from the other provinces like Manawatu & Taranaki. Enter stage left, the Whitelocks, Cody Taylor, Ben Furnell, Scott Barrett. The difference is our current crop of champions is they are mostly born and bred in the Bay region. An article for another day will discuss the current climate of NZ schoolboy rugby and the aggressive recruiting of players, now is not the time to get me started.
Brace yourself; this list is more impressive than my lunchtime schoolboy ping pong consecutive victories record from 1986. Kane Williamson black caps skipper, Trent Boult-cricket, Peter Burling-sailing, Mahe Drysdale-rowing, Nick Willis-athletics, Luuka Jones-canoeing, Fraser Sharp-para cycling, Joe Miller – sprinter, Amy Robinson – Hockey, Lisa Carrington-canoeing, Nathan Harris – All Black, Val Adams – shot put. This is just to name a few, and no doubt I have missed many – my apologies to those concerned.
A strong argument can be made that the Bay is not just breeding champions; they are elite champions of the highest international order. Having met and chewed the fat with quite a few of the above listed people, they appear to have a common competitive advantage that cannot be replicated anywhere else around the world. In short, they’re typical kiwis with an unwavering drive to succeed. In long, they are grounded people who see the opportunity to make a living playing sport as a privilege; they train at local facilities and spend time with future generations inspiring them and valuing the contact. My own teenagers are into track and field, they have often seen Nick Willis working out at Tauranga Domain and he is always, without failure, happy to chat and show an interest in the kids and their training. Same goes with Amy Robinson whom is currently in the Black Sticks hockey team who often competes in the summer Tuesday night Ramblers athletics. Girls from the age of 13 rub shoulders and compete against her and the best thing is, she so clearly enjoys herself. Does she even realise what an amazing role model she is? Probably not, and this is where we hold a completive edge. Take the sport and training very seriously, don’t take yourself too seriously. It’s a recipe to succeed. Blokes like Nathan Harris retain their grass roots contacts in the region; it was heartening to see him running the water for Te Puke Sports last year after being injured for the AB’s. Luuka will chat with anyone in the gym during training, and I saw her speak to her old school Otumoetai Intermediate not long after the Rio Olympics. My daughter was rapt. Brilliant inspirational stuff. You simply don’t get that overseas, or in Auckland much for that matter.
It’s not only individual athletic talent that contributes to elite success. The Bay has an amazing network of medical professionals, many of whom have excelled at a high sporting level themselves. Take ex All Black now physiotherapist Royce Willis, and long distance runner now sports medicine physician Dr Judith May as an example. These are people who have made mistakes training, come back from injury too soon, and have a wealth of experience in their chosen fields of expertise. This level of support often goes unnoticed but is crucial in any athletic success we celebrate.
The Bay is blessed with amazing elite coaches who also contribute to individual sporting glory. We’ve all heard of Gordy Tietjens & Pic Parkhouse. Who, outside of athletics, has heard of Kerry Hill? This bloke is a living legend.
As the adage goes, it takes a village a raise a child – or in this case, a world-class athlete – and one of the region’s contributing factors is the BayTrust CoachForce programme, facilitated by Sport Bay of Plenty.
Started in 1997, it’s a programme that provides a strong foundation for coach development in the community. The aim is to create more and better coaches, coaching more often and increasing participation in organised sport within the Bay of Plenty community.
Sport Bay of Plenty Coaching and Talent Development Team Leader Dave Clarke says CoachForce is a huge asset to sport in the region, as research shows quality coaching is the biggest influencer when it comes to retaining athlete participation.
“The programme is critical in developing sporting environments in which our young people can thrive – whether they are looking to take their skills to the next level, or simply enjoy playing their chosen code.”
Sport Bay of Plenty works directly with the officers, 26 coach developers who have been selected by their Regional and National Sporting Organisations with an aim to develop and upskill the coaches in those sporting codes.
This has a huge and wide-spread impact with more 13,500 connections between coaches and the CoachForce officers around the region annually – be this through events, workshops or development opportunities.
If you have an opinion on schoolboy rugby, I’d love to hear it. Specifically the money and resources being throw at players by certain schools in an effort to win games. Allegedly, some of these ‘school boys’ are 20 years old, hold down jobs, and have children. Is this true?
Drop me an email at duncan@baywaka.nz.
