November 2024 Issue No. 15
Kia ora koutou ngā matanga nō te ao hākinakina, tēnā kotuou.
Welcome to the fifteenth edition of Coaches Kōrero.
Coaches Kōrero has been established to recognise and celebrate our Performance Coaching community in New Zealand.
In this issue we profile Cory Sweeney, coach of the Gold Medal Winning Black Ferns Sevens team and weightlifting coach Megan Signal.
Andy Longley presents article eleven in his series “The art of neuroscience of high-performance coaching”. This article is on Coaches and Role Models.
Last month, we announced the addition of Andrew Leete to our board as our first independent board member. This
month, we are excited to advise that Tavendale and Partners have become our legal partners.
Our partnership with Tavendale + Partners will enable us to provide best-in-class support for our members across a range of legal matters including contract negotiation, dispute resolution support and general compliance. The partnership will enable our members to have comfort and confidence that their affairs are being managed by experts and they in turn can focus on delivering world class coaching performances. To access, the legal service, please contact our General Manager, Andrew Gaze in the first instance. His contact details are 021 443 523 or by email [email protected].
In addition to the legal support, we also have a bespoke well-being programme that is available to our members. As you can see, we are building a suite of advisory services, in order for us to continue to build our support offerings, we need to build our funding base, as we have a goal of being a fully independent sustainable representative body. A key element is building a strong and vibrant Membership.
I would encourage you to join. The annual membership fee is $360.00 per year, or you can pay monthly ($30) by
establishing a 12-month Automatic Payment.
If you would like more information, you can contact us on [email protected].
Finally, we have set up our socials, so please follow and like us
Ngā mihi,
Tom Willmott
Chair
We would like to extend a warm welcome to the following new Te Korowai members.
| Angela Winstanley-Smith | Water Polo |
| Jonathan Black | Athletics |
| John Eden | Athletics |
| Ernst Oliver | Athletics |
| James Sandilands | Athletics |
| Victoria Grant | Rugby |
| Sam Ward | Rugby |
Tavendale + Partners Partnership Announcement
We’re delighted to announce our partnership with national
law firm Tavendale + Partners (TP). With a strong sports law practice, the firm will no doubt be known to many of you.
Our partnership with Tavendale + Partners will enable
us to provide best-in-class support for our Performance Coaches across a range of legal matters including contract negotiation, dispute resolution support and general compliance.
Chair, Tom Willmott, said “As an organisation, we are delighted to have Tavendale + Partners as our legal partner. Tavendale’s legal expertise will enable us to support our Performance Coach Community with many value adding benefits. The partnership will enable our coaches to have comfort and confidence that their affairs are being managed
by experts and they in turn can focus on delivering world class coaching performances.”
As part of our family of professional advisors, members will have access Tavendale + Partners for legal advice in relation to both professional and personal affairs, including around business, property investment, relationship property, Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorney.
To access, the legal service, please contact our General
Manager, Andrew Gaze in the first instance. His contact
details are 021 443 523 or by email [email protected]
Cory Sweeney
Savouring the moment is often a short-lived experience
for Cory Sweeney, who instead, spends much of his time looking ahead and plotting the course of continued success for the Black Ferns Sevens.
From Black Ferns assistant coach (2016 – 17) to Black Ferns co-coach (2019 – 2021) to Black Ferns head coach (2021 –present), Sweeney, initially thought the closest he could get to being involved with the Black Ferns Sevens programme was as their manager. But coaching has always been his true calling as evidenced in the remarkable career he has fashioned from the mentor’s role.
Megan Signal
When Megan Signal stands on the side of the platform, she knows her athletes have all the tools they need to succeed – not just in weightlifting, but outside of the sport too.
It’s a very important philosophy for Signal, who only recently retired from her own competitive weightlifting career.
Andrew Longley
Coaches and Role Models
coachup.academy: The art and neuroscience of high- performance coaching
Article 11 in the Series of 12
Andy is a team performance expert with a background in psychology & applied neuroscience, who will, over the coming months, share insights into the art and neuroscience of high-performance coaching. Each article will share a little of the latest applied neuroscience plus give simple tips on how to practically bring it to life in your own coaching.
TRIATHLON – SuperTri Series, Toulouse, France (3 x 300m swim, 4km Bike, 1km run)
- Craig Kirkwood coached Hayden Wilde to 3rd in the
SNOW SPORTS – BIG AIR FESTIVAL (FIS WORLD CUP), CHUR, SWITZERLAND
- AJ Jamieson coached Rocco Jamieson to 2nd
Elite Men. Snowboard Big Air
- Sean Thompson coached Lyon Farrell to 9th
TRIATHLON – 2024 World Triathlon Cup, Rome, Sprint Triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)
- Stephen Sheldrake coached Tayler Reid to 5th in the Elite Men.
- Paulo Sousa coached Nicole Van Der Kaay to 4th in the Elite Women.
CRICKET – NZC White Ferns, T20 World Cup
- Ben Sawyer, Dean Brownlie, Craig McMillan and Paul Wiseman coached the World Champion winning White Ferns at the T20 World Cup.
CYCLING – UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Denmark
- Paul Manning coached Ally Wollaston to Gold in the Omnium and Elimination Race. Bronze in the Scratch Race & 4th in the Points Race.
- Paul Manning coached Bryony Botha to Bronze in the Individual Pursuit.
SNOW SPORTS – Winter Games (FIS World Cup) Wanaka
- Nick Draxl coached Lucas Bell to 2nd in the Freeski Slopestyle.
TRIATHLON – 2024 World Triathlon Championship Series Grand Final, Torremolinos, Spain. Olympic Distance
- Craig Kirkwood coached Hayden Wilde to 1st in the Elite Men and 3rd overall in World Championships Series.
- Stephen Sheldrake coached Tayler Reid to 7th in the Elite Men and 14th overall in World Championship Series.
SNOW SPORTS – BIG AIR FESTIVAL (FIS WORLD CUP), CHUR, SWITZERLAND
- AJ Jamieson coached Rocco Jamieson to 2nd Snowboard Big Air
- Sean Thompson coached Lyon Farrell to 9th Snowboard Big Air
SWIMMING – World Aquatics Swimming World Cup (short course), Shanghai, China
- Mitch Nairn coached Lewis Clareburt to 3rd in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley & 6th in the Men’s 200m Freestyle.
NETBALL Constellation Cup – NZ v Australia
- Noeline Taurua and Debbie Fuller coached the Silver Ferns to a series win over Australia in the Constellation Cup.
TRIATHLON – World Triathlon Cup 2024, Tongyeong, South Korea. Olympic distance.
- John Hellemans coached Dylan McCollough to 1st in the Elite Men.
SNOW SPORTS – SOLDEN FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP, SOLDEN, AUSTRIA
- Nils Coberger & Tim Café coached Alice Robinson to 2nd in the Giant Slalom.
SWIMMING – World Aquatics Swimming World Cup (short course), Incheon, Korea
- Mitch Nairn coached Lewis Clareburt to 4th in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley & 6th in the Men’s 200m Butterfly.