Wednesday 12 June 2002

Seven more Prime Minister’s Coach Scholarships have been awarded to support high performance coaches - making sure they get the recognition they deserve.

This is the second round of scholarships to be presented. They will help New Zealand’s elite coaches train and inspire potential sporting stars of the future.

Margaret Foster (netball), Andrew MacLennan (athletics) and Gerard Stokes (rugby league) received scholarships worth $50,000 each and four other coaches were awarded $10,000.

Sport, Fitness and Leisure Minister Trevor Mallard said fostering sporting excellence is a major part of the government’s policies.

“It’s inspiring to see seven more coaches recognised for their hard work and vision for the future. The scholarship review panel have high standards and some proposals put forward just weren’t up to that standard. The coaches receiving these awards should feel very proud of themselves.

"Coaches are too often unsung heroes, but they play a vital role in the success of our athletes and sports teams. As a nation, we benefit when our sporting stars do well. Supporting coaches is a way of enhancing the potential of top athletes.”

The Prime Minister’s Coach Scholarships were established following the Ministerial report into sport, fitness and leisure which identified the need for greater resources and support for coaches.

Aimed at providing professional development opportunities, the government has committed $1 million dollars to the programme this year.

“The scholarships offer the opportunity for sports and coaches to plan ahead - to identify professional development opportunities that will improve their ability and give them access to the support they need to get there.

Gerard Stokes - Rugby League

Current Role

2002-2003 - Head Coach - Wellington Bartercard Cup Franchise

2001-2002 - Assistant Kiwi coach and Selector

Representative History

15 year old Kiwi

17 year old Kiwi

19 year old Kiwi

Canterbury representative

South Island representative

New Zealand Kiwi (1982)

Workington 1st Division (1984)

Workington 2nd Division (1989)

Coaching History

Gerard has been coaching since 1988 when he was a player/coach of Marist Western Suburbs Club Premier Team in Christchurch. Since then he has coached teams from the Marist Western Suburbs club, Canterbury provincial teams and is now Head Coach of the Wellington Bartercard Cup Franchise.

1999 - Coach Canterbury Provincial

1999 - Assessor - Level 3 Coaching

1999 - Staff coach - NZ Academy of Excellence

2000 - NZ Rugby league - Coach of the Year

2000 - Canterbury Rugby League Coach of the Year.

2001 - Finalist Coach of the Year - Sir Richard Hadlee Awards.

2002 - Assistant Coach - New Zealand Rugby League

2002 - Selector - New Zealand test team

Project:

- Spend time observing an Australian Rugby League team (Canterbury Bulldogs) This will allow Gerard to observe how the club operates in terms of:

o the day-to-day running of a professional NRL club

o their coaching strategies

o training loads and time planning

o rehabilitation sessions and techniques

o team management

o individual player analysis

o team dynamics

o gain an understanding of time requirements and how best to plan time off for the full time players

o time allocated to different aspects of planning e.g. opposition analysis, game plan, strategy etc

o team building

o how media demands are serviced

- Observe the Canterbury Crusaders team. This will enable Gerard to view how another code works and spend time with Robbie Deans.

- Computer upskilling.

Margaret Foster - Netball

Current Role:

Head coach - Canterbury Flames

Coaching History:

Margaret has been coaching at all levels. Margaret has coached a variety of teams from the Hearts “A’ Premier team, New Zealand Senior Maori team, Aranui High School and has been guest coach for many schools and netball camps.

1994 NZ Senior Maori Coach

1995- 1996 Hearts “A’ Premier Player/Coach

1995 Specialist Coach, Beginner Coaches Netball

1997 South Island Coach and Selector - Indoor 6 a side netball

1999 Te Wai Pounamu Senior Team

1999-2000 Aranui High School “A’ Netball Team

2000 Canterbury Senior Netball team

1999-2000, 2002 Head Coach Canterbury Flames

2000 Canterbury Senior Netball team

2002 Specialist coach for NSW Academy

Coaching Achievements:

Canterbury flames - runners up in the National Bank Cup 2002

Project:

Margaret will

- travel to Manchester to observe an international team prepare and compete.

- Study the sports development programme at the University of Bath

- Attend sports coach conference in Melbourne in Dec 2002.

- Attend world netball champs in Jamaica.

Andrew MacLennan - Athletics

Current Role:

High Performance sprint coach. Currently coaching several carded female athletes.

Coaching History:

Coached athletics for past 6 years.

Achievements:

Member of the Athletics NZ Sprints and Relays Coaching advisory group.

Lectures coaches at level 2 in Sprints and Relays.

Previously coached mark Keddell, Olympic Track and Field 200m sprinter.

Currently coaching

- Caro Hunt - current NZ 100m and 200m champion

- Rebecca Wardell - ranked number 2 over 400m in NZ

- Melina Hamilton - Commonwealth Games qualifier, Manchester 2002

Project:

- Andrew will travel and spend time with some of the leading sprint coaches in the world from the USA, Canada, Germany and Japan.

- Andrew will spend time with the coaches, discuss ideas with them, watch their athletes as they train, video the athletes and talk to them regarding their training. As well as increasing Andrew’s knowledge of coaching techniques this will provide a network of coaches for Andrew to communicate with in the future.

Prime Minister’s Coach Scholarships - Questions and Answers

Which coaches were eligible to apply for the Prime Minister’s Coach Scholarship ($50,000)?

- Coaches from priority carded sports (original 17 academy sports and paralympics) who did not receive significant funding (more than half of their employment package) from the NZ Sports Foundation in 2001/2002

How long are scholarships for?

The grant must be spent within a 12-18 month period.

What will the scholarship pay for?

1. High Performance Coach Scholarship.

- Funds will be used to offset costs associated with a professional development programme that will significant enhance the coaches ability as a coach, thereby, bridging the gap required to become the national coach. These costs would include domestic and international travel, professional course fees and reimbursement for loss of income.

2. Coach Professional Development Scholarships can cover

- Tertiary study in a coach related field in NZ or overseas

- A NZQA qualification in a coach related field

- A coaching course at a sports institution in NZ or overseas

- Travel to a competition or series of competitions for a specific coaching development objective

- CNZ Level 3 (11 modules over a timeframe determined by coach)

- Working with/observing an overseas coach identified as an expert in their field

- Receiving a planned course of feedback involving a professional coach consultant

- Attending a coaching course or conference in NZ or overseas (if overseas, the applicant would need to show evidence of existing advanced coaching qualifications).

How do coaches apply?

Coaches interested in applying for a scholarship should have contacted their national sports organisation. All coaches must be part of the national sports organisation coaching structure. The national organisations will verify the information supplied, provide a brief endorsement of the application. If more than one coach applies then the national sports organisation will be asked to prioritise the applications.

How are scholarships monitored?

The national sports organisation is responsible for the ongoing monitoring and review of the scholarship on a day-to-day basis. The coach and National Sport Organisation will be required to submit a full report at the end of programme. The objective of the report is to quantify the value that the programme has delivered to the coach and the NSO.

Why wasn’t the entire amount spent?

The aim of the scholarship is to provide coaches with an opportunity to enhance their coaching knowledge base through the completion of a structured professional development plan. Successful applications were those where the coach demonstrated their knowledge gaps and proposed a professional development plan that would bridge these gaps.

The review panel had a total of $888,888.00 ($1 million including GST) to distribute. The panel allocated the following funds.

Budget Allocated Round 1 Allocated

Round 2

High performance coach ($50,000) scholarships $500,000 $150,000 $150,000

Coach professional development scholarship (up to $10,000 $388,888 $406,530 $40,000

$888,888 $556,530 $190,000

Eight additional applications were received. Of these three High Performance Coach scholarships were awarded. All unsuccessful High Performance Coach scholarships are then considered in the Coach Professional Development ($10,000) category.

Any unspent funds for the 2001/2002 year will be carried over and be allocated in the 2002/2003 year.

Do other counties have similar schemes?

Australia and the UK both have coach development programmes. The New Zealand Academy of Sport examined the overseas schemes and took into account the New Zealand context to create a programme that is appropriate for our coaches.

Who are the original 17 academy Sports?

Athletics, Bowls, Cricket Cycling, Equestrian, Golf, Hockey, Netball, Rowing, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, Triathlon, Yachting

Why are existing National Coaches excluded?

Existing coaches can apply for scholarships. National coaches unable to apply are those that are already receiving significant funding from the New Zealand Academy of Sport (over half of their employment package). The scholarships aim to increase the depth of coaching in New Zealand.

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