Coaches of champions up for awards
Of all the awards up for grabs at the upcoming Massey University Harbour Sport Excellence Awards gala dinner, one arguably stands above all others in terms of quality.
There are high achievers right through the 13 categories, but the four finalists for Karhu Coach of the Year all have one thing in common – they’ve coached world champions.
The four are sailing coach Hamish Willcox, who mentors World 49er Champions and Team New Zealand yachties Peter Burling and Blair Tuke; Jason Pocock, coach of the Black Finz Surf Lifesaving team which won the 2014 World Championships in France; Gordon Walker, coach of world champion kayaker Lisa Carrington and another sailing mentor, Nathan Handley, who won the award last year.
Handley coaches Jo Aleh and Olivia ‘‘Polly’’ Powrie, who just failed to defend their world championship in the 470s this year, taking the silver.
Handley’s honoured to again be up for the coach of the year.
‘ ‘ It’s fantastic and I’m really proud to be a finalist again, and I’m very lucky that I get to coach one of the best sailing teams in the world,’’ he says.
Aleh and Powrie, known as Team Jolly, are also up for awards this year.
They are finalists in the Massey University Best International Performance of the Year, and both are also up for the North Shore Times Year.
‘‘To coach Jo and Polly is just a pleasure,’’ Handley says. ‘‘I’ve been associated with them for seven years or so now, and the biggest satisfaction for me is to have witnessed their outstanding development.
‘‘Both are so professional, driven and committed to succeed.’’
Handley thinks Team Jolly’s biggest success this year was winning a test event at the Olympic venue in Rio de Janeiro.
‘‘Not winning the world championships this year was tough, but they still won silver which was a great effort in what was a really close regatta,’’ he says.
Sportswoman of the