LOGAN PARK HIGH SCHOOL
Name: Danielle Frost
Role: Senior boys A volleyball coach.
Her story: Danielle has spent 14 years coaching volleyball, and basketball for 9-10 years. She started coaching netball and volleyball in high school as a student coach.
Danielle started her teaching career at Logan Park in 2010. She has coached both basketball and volleyball, and has been an important leader in the development of sport at Logan Park. She also coaches all the sports her young son plays.
"Coaching brings a different level of enjoyment," Danielle said. "It makes you feel like you are making a difference.
"It provides you with an opportunity to connect with the students in a different environment, allows you to be a part of their journey where they face challenges and overcome the mental difficulties sport creates, and allows you to help them improve their skills in a sport, and work towards goals. It is so satisfying when you see them make progress, achieve goals and improve as a team."
BLUE MOUNTAIN COLLEGE
Name: Janine Venz
Her story: Janine, also assistant principal of BMC, continued her journey in school sports when she returned to Tapanui in 2001. Her involvement expanded as her eldest daughter started at BMC, leading her to become the netball club secretary and later the school representative on the committee.
She continued coaching at BMC, starting with the top year 7-8 team in 2002 and remained a committed coach until the end of 2021. Currently she serves as treasurer for the SISS netball committee.
As a coach, Janine enjoys the challenge of moulding a team from a diverse group of players and witnessing their growth throughout the season. Stand-out moments included taking the development team to the SISS junior tournament and making the final with three different teams, and making the year 10 final of the Otago secondary schools tournament with a team that included several year 9 players. Janine also took the school tennis team to the SISS finals.
TRINITY CATHOLIC COLLEGE
Name: Naomi Tupa’i
Role: Teacher in charge of touch.
Her story: I have played touch since I was in year 7 and am so grateful for the opportunities that it has given me, the people that I have met through the sport and the way it has allowed me to grow as an individual. I feel it’s important to give back to a sport that has given me so much and as a teacher. I believe that any sport is a good vehicle for young people to develop their leadership and soft skills, so I try to create a positive experience in the sport for students.
In my initial year at Trinity, I ran morning trainings for the year 7-8 students to help build the touch programme, and in my second year I extended this to year 9-10. This year we had four year 7-8 teams and three year 9-13 teams, so I tried to support these teams. The next steps will be to grow our pool of coaches, so that there are more people to create opportunities and support our students to play touch.
CROMWELL COLLEGE
Name: Karen Gallagher
Role: Coach and teacher in charge of touch, coach of year 9-10 girls basketball.
Her story: When I arrived back in Cromwell and I was getting involved in touch, I was told there were no pathways for touch. Why bother? That is all the motivation I needed. I had a bunch of talented, keen, dedicated kids who wanted to do well in the game (with a good number still coming through).
That is a coach’s dream, really, and you want to do well by them. You want to provide opportunities for them to show their talent at a higher level.
There are a large number of students that have had plenty of opportunities playing at a regional and national level. There are plenty of pathways for Cromwell kids to achieve well and punch well above their weight.
QUEEN’S HIGH SCHOOL
Name: Jucinda Geddes
Roles: I have been manager, coach and teacher in charge for sports including hockey, football, netball, tennis, multisport and triathlon. I am currently the coach and TIC of hockey.
Her story: I have been involved in school sport for over 25 years. I have witnessed Queen’s sport develop from some sports struggling to get teams to now being competition leaders and having multiple teams in multiple sports. We offer such a wide range of sports with a wide range of abilities from those giving the sport a go for the first time to girls making regional and New Zealand teams.
Sport is so good for the mind and body — no matter how young or old you are. I have been involved in many different sports as a player/competitor through to a manager and coach, even a supporter driving my family around in the car to stop at locations around multisport events to be a cheer squad.
I was brought up playing sports and with the values that sport entails. It teaches you success and failure. I believe that if you can’t find a sport that suits you, find one that does. I love the challenges that sport offers. In coaching, I love to see players develop from not being able to hold a hockey stick to being able to score a goal, and helping top athletes who already have the ability to bring that out and push themselves to excel and try harder.
