Senior Sergeant Gavin Briggs, usually of Dunedin, travelled to Samoa in September last year as one of two officers helping local police with security planning and preparation ahead of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.
While in his Apia apartment, the longtime basketball coach spotted two youths shooting hoops in their driveway.
He started asking some questions and sharing some stories, and one of the teenagers ran into his house to bring his mother out.
By chance, his neighbour was Pualele Craig, a coach with the Samoan Basketball Federation.
"One thing led to another and I was asked to coach — it just blossomed, or bloomed."
He was currently juggling the role along with his policing duties in Samoa, which "keeps me busy in my downtime", he said.
His part-time coaching gig was in preparation to send Samoa’s national under-15 team to compete at the Oceania championship in Canberra in November.
The players were fantastic, he said.
"They’re very keen, respectful, always willing to learn and excited — they are also very good players."
Briggs spent his youth playing basketball, winning back-to-back national titles with an Otago under-20 side.
He then racked up an impressive coaching CV as Goldrush women’s coach, assistant coach for the Nuggets, and guiding the Otago under-17 boys and Otago Boys’ High School to national titles in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
After being head coach of the Junior Tall Blacks and spending time as manager of the Tall Blacks, he had amassed a large kit collection that was now in the hands of the children and teenagers he was coaching in Samoa.
"They were thrilled, and you’ll see them wearing the gear a lot.
"It’s not a wealthy place. We have kids and teens playing basketball outside barefoot, in crocs and jandals ... a lot of the kids here have also never left the island."
Briggs said apart from imparting his knowledge with the youth, sharing of culture was one of the best parts of the gig.
"A lot of them have heard of Auckland and the Waikato because they have family there — sometimes Christchurch, but not so much Dunedin.
"I said there was snow on the ground back home and they were very interested — it’s very different to what they’re used to."
After months of coaching the youths, he would not get the opportunity to see them play in Canberra in November due to timing and his policing duties.
He said the team he was coaching would ultimately be competing against his native New Zealand, but he would support the Samoan team he had helped craft.
