Forging his path from highly capable front row forward in club rugby to assistant coach of one of the most recognisable teams in world sport, the All Blacks, Jason Ryan has become a coaching rarity in the process. Always his own man, Ryan has rolled the dice and made brave decisions while being confronted with […]

Melodie Bosman knows how to turn a challenge into an opportunity. Remote coaching during Super Rugby Aupiki was a big change from what Bosman was used to, valuing face-to-face interaction. But the lessons she learnt from it have helped her greatly in her role as assistant coach for the USA women’s team. Bosman is Black […]

For so long, the primary perception of surfing has been romanticized as a recreational lifestyle activity for the adventurous and carefree. However, there is a growing mindset shift and appreciation of surfing as a serious sport that requires dedication, training and respect for the ocean. Growing up on the Whangamata beachfront, Matt Scorringe was destined […]

If someone tells Angela Winstanley-Smith that she can’t do something, she takes it as a challenge. And after being two goals short of the Paris Olympics, her drive to take her team to an Olympic Games is bigger than ever. The head coach of the New Zealand women’s water polo team since 2017, Winstanley-Smith used […]

Rob Moore has coaching down to a science in a sport where milliseconds and millimetres count. Moore is the head coach of the speed programme at Climbing NZ, as well as the company’s high-performance director, and has almost 30 years of experience in coaching climbing. His passion for the sport is clear and matches his […]

Te Korowai recognize that taking care of our well-being is vitally important as coaches. After all, it’s a stressful job with performance pressures, time away from our friends and family, media scrutiny, and sometimes a lack of job security. As coaches, we regularly think about our athletes before we think about ourselves because that’s why […]

Triathlon coach/Triathlon NZ Women and Girls Lead From helping struggling athletes to rebuilding her own life, resilience is a word that resonates strongly with triathlon coach Tammy (Tamara) Reed, who has emerged from tragic circumstances to re-find her happy spot in coaching. The highly respected coach, who trains individual athletes while also working part-time as […]

Para Cycling Performance Coach and Lead Sports Scientist Armed with a lengthy list of educational qualifications, a creative streak, and the ability to think outside the square, Damian Wiseman has tailored a multi-layered jack-of-all-trades approach to his success as an elite-level cycling coach. Combined with a love of competing, the former New Zealand track cyclist […]

James Coote is in the business of setting goals and achieving them. “My ultimate goal was to coach for my country at a World Champs and Olympics,” he tells. “But I always knew it would be harder to be taken seriously, as I wasn’t an elite athlete myself.” After taking the women’s double sculls crew […]

The men’s Black Sticks team won’t be going to the tattoo parlour at the Paris Olympics this year. Head coach Greg Nicol says the team’s goal isn’t to attend the Olympics; they’re going there to be competitive and win games. “I think too many teams and athletes go to the Olympic Games, and it is […]

Brutal and beautiful is the way that rugby coach Crystal Kaua wants the Chiefs Manawa team to play. It’s also a perfect way to describe the rugby coach’s life so far. “I love that feeling of navigating hard stuff. Because I believe greatness is on the other side of that – you need to be […]

Motivated by creating a sense of belonging, working with great people and a passion for skiing, first forged on the slopes of Temple Basin as a child, Hamish McDougall has developed into one of the most prominent and successful coaches at Snow Sports NZ. As a coach to three of New Zealand’s elite freeskiers – […]