Saluting the volunteers who make it happen
Secondary school sport is a powerhouse in Otago with more than 6000 pupils (62%) actively involved in one or more organised sports last year. None of it could be possible without the endless hours and dedication from school and community volunteers. The Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association highlights some of them.
KING’S HIGH SCHOOL
Name: Andy Campbell.
Volunteer role: Senior and junior volleyball coach.
Service: 1988 to present day (35 years).
Legacy: Attended King’s as a pupil in 198488, representing the volleyball 1sts. Andy first coached a King’s volleyball team as a seventh form pupil in 1988. He has had some very proud moments while coaching at King’s, a highlight being third place at the 1997 nationals. Andy has inspired many players and coaches in his time at King’s. He has a very calm and assertive demeanour which gets the best out of his players. Andy also has one of the most talented volleyball brains in New Zealand which has enabled him to excel in the role of New Zealand under20 coach.
TRINITY CATHOLIC COLLEGE
Name: Rachel Mortimer.
Volunteer role: Teacher in charge of netball at Trinity as well as comanager of the Trinity senior A netball team.
Service: Rachel has been in the position for three years, and spends about eight hours a week either watching, managing or umpiring games. Out of season, Rachel helps with netball conditioning for one hour per week and another three to four hours with admin.
Legacy: Rachel has made netball at Trinity more cohesive by helping to create a website to help support the players as well as writing a code of conduct for players. TCC netball teams are now more like a netball club with 11 teams. Rachel has spent many hours working with teachers and parents at the school to make netball at Trinity what it is today. She has always enjoyed netball and played throughout high school.
Name: Jachary Joseph.
Volunteer role: Boys First XI football coach.
Service: One and ahalf years, five to six hours a week.
Legacy: Jachary really enjoys training the boys and teaching them how to play well but also have a great time. Jachary (21) moved here from Wellington when he was 9. When he was a year 12 pupil at Trinity, he was told that he was going to be coaching a futsal team at a tournament and ended up coaching it for four years. Last year he was asked to come back to coach the first XI. He really enjoys football and has loved the experience of coaching the team so far this season.
QUEEN’S HIGH SCHOOL
Name: Terry Brewerton.
Volunteer role: Volleyball coach
Service: Terry started coaching school teams as a teacher from 1991 until 2013, and was involved with three schools in Invercargill and Dunedin. Five years ago, he started developing a volleyball programme at Queen’s. He said this was made easier with the support of the school which provided managers across as many teams as possible, plus looking after the wellbeing of all players.
His role involves coaching the year 10A team, along with having an overview of other teams and coaches, plus coordinating trials and selecting competitive teams.
Legacy: A highlight for Terry is seeing players who play volleyball in year 9 continuing to play in year 13. He also gets satisfaction from players he has coached being selected in representative teams.
In the past few years, Terry has coached or assisted with coaching teams at all agegroup levels. He also helped coach the Otago under17 girls representative team last year.
Terry assists the school by focusing on finding more coaches and mentoring them when necessary.
He was on the board of Volleyball Otago as the treasurer in 2000 2021, assisted Volleyball Otago with running the Dunedin schools’ competitions, senior and junior tournaments, while also organising Otago versus Southland tournaments from 2013 until 2020.
For the past 15 years, Terry has also carried out volunteer work as the treasurer of a local golf club.
Name: Robert Bray
Volunteer role:Football coach Service: Rob has been playing football in Dunedin for the past 30 years and coaching for the past eight through different divisions of senior football. Rob’s thoughts on coaching, like the female sport, have grown. He has learnt a lot from mentors in clubs around Dunedin;
—Gary McConville, Paul Lindsay, and Graeme Smaill. Those coaches have taught him, in their own way, that it is not just about playing the game, it is about keeping it alive and nurturing the talent.
When Graeme Smaill, Southern United women’s coach, passed Rob’s name on to Nikki Stumbles, Director of Sport, Rob was surprised and honoured to be asked to coach the school 1st XI. He asked himself, “Would it be a change?”. “Yes.” Has Rob enjoyed it? “Without a doubt.”
Legacy: Rob has discovered that coaching girls’ football has been an incredibly rewarding experience. He said it takes time and dedication, but seeing his team succeed and grow in confidence is truly satisfying.
Rob believes that before even stepping on to the field, it's important to establish a strong connection with your players. This means getting to know them individually, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and creating a positive and supportive team environment. When it comes to coaching the technical aspects of football, it's important to remember that girls are just as capable as boys. He encourages girls to push themselves and to support one another along the way.
One of the biggest challenges in coaching girls’ football is breaking down societal stereotypes and beliefs about what girls can and cannot do. He feels that it's important to instil in your team the belief that they can achieve anything they set their minds to and he encourages them to be ambitious and to never give up on themselves or each other.
Finally, Rob believes celebrating every success, no matter how small. Being enthusiastic, positive, and remembering that coaching is not just about winning games, it's also about helping your players develop as people, both on and off the field.
Rob speaks ‘words of wisdom’ to his players during team talks.
He views coaching as a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young women and to be a part of something truly special.
BAYFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
Name: Andrew Stoddart
Volunteer role: Coach and manager of many different codes – actively involved in everything sporting within Bayfield.
Service: Six years and counting. Bayfield High School sports is so lucky to have the services of the entire Stoddart wha¯nau, led by our volunteer extraordinaire, Andrew Stoddart.
Andrew has had three sons rise through the ranks of Bayfield High School and he has been here supporting all of Bayfield’s sport and sporting endeavours since the start of 2017, when his oldest son Ben first arrived at the school.
Andrew has coached football, refereed football, managed basketball and volleyball teams, managed and coached touch rugby, attended tournaments, driven students to games, helped at school athletics and crosscountry, been parent help at camp, attended school exchanges, worked at numerous fundraisers and countless other roles. All on top of being a member of the Board of
Trustees and a wonderful contributor to Bayfield’s wha¯nau hui and wha¯nau group at school.
Legacy: Andrew has poured more hours into helping the Bayfield High School sporting programme and supporting the rangatahi than could possibly be counted. He is a wellknown, friendly face around school and local sporting grounds (along with his lovely wife Liz), and sport at Bayfield High School will not be the same when his third son, Sam, graduates at the end of 2025.
On behalf of Bayfield High School, we thank you for your many hours and tireless energy you and your family contribute to school sport.