Fortunately conditions were light as the other coaches joined host coach Jenny in her coach boat on the water to watch her put her four ILCA6 youth class girls and boys through a starting skills session.
Jenny says the morning started with a session in which she framed up the sport of sailing, from boats in the water to safety, how the sport works, how to win, how points are allocated and the finer aspects of competition which are obviously different from all the other sports.
“A real highlight was the debrief session after we’d been on the water,” says Jenny. “What was very insightful was the responses my athletes gave to the other coaches which was more than I often get from them.
“It was also interesting to see how my young sailors interacted with a diverse range of coaches not from their own sport.”
Jenny says she was surprised at how well her session went. “Actually it felt better than I thought it would and partly that is because we are now a tightknit group of coaches and supportive of each other. So it was a comfortable environment to demonstrate how I coach.
“As with our other residentials this year, it is so motivating and encouraging to see how all the coaches in the programme try to help each other get better. It’s a good place to learn and grow.”
Somewhat sheepishly, Jenny concludes by saying that this residential and observations from the other coaches made her realise that she’s actually quite good at what she does.
With two more residential courses scheduled for the group in the first half of 2024, the inaugural Kia Manawanui programme has again highlighted the real value of bringing coaches together to provide opportunities for cross sport learning and creating connections between coaches, says HPSNZ Head of Coaching, Daryl Gibson.
The willingness to share and exchange knowledge across sports is becoming a real hallmark of New Zealand coaches according to Daryl.
“The great example where Rob Moore, our National Speed Climbing coach, was able to call on expert advice from track sprint coach and fellow Kia Manawanui participant, James Moore, regarding indoor warm up routines is a great illustration of our small nation’s competitive advantage.
“It has been a real privilege seeing our national coaches being prepared to get a little uncomfortable coaching their athletes in front of their peers and the rich learnings that are provided through this experience have been invaluable.”
Daryl’s thoughts are reinforced by the ‘architect’ of many of HPSNZ’s coaching programmes, including Kia Manawanui, Lyn Gunson.
“A unique feature of Kia Manawanui is the cross sport hosting and being hosted,” says Lyn. “This exposes high performance coaches to alternative methodologies while deepening cross-sport understanding and opens up different perspectives.
“On-site coaching allows practical information to be shared and demonstrated, yet challenged,” says Lyn. “This dynamic sport sites approach allows the coaches to become involved in preventative discussions around the real challenges and issues for sport in the modern environment, for example, dual citizenship athletes such as the modern pentathlon and resourcing challenges for New Zealand on the international stage.”
Another of the many benefits of the programme according to Lyn is it provides an opportunity for aspirational, often smaller, sports to engage with the mainstream of the New Zealand sport system, establishing a functioning community of practice.
Daryl saves an end of year and end of time shout out to Lyn. “It’s a real credit to Lyn’s vision. She recognised the need in our coaching community for quality coach development at all levels of the high performance coach pathway.
“Her legacy as the architect of the HPSNZ coaching programmes will be felt for generations to come.”
