Following discussions at a Regional Sport Wānanga in mid-2024, a steering group was established to develop a three-year Regional Coaching Plan for Northland. This plan aims to provide the Northland Sports Coalition (a forum of members that exists to speak on behalf of and collectively support, promote and advocate for the ongoing development of sport in Northland) with a comprehensive guide to collectively and collaboratively enhance our coaching landscape.

Representatives from nine different organisations – Northland Hockey, Northland Volleyball, High Performance Sport New Zealand, Northland Cricket, Northland Football Club, Northland Rugby, NorthTec, Whangarei Girls’ High School and Sport Northland – collaborated over several months to create this plan. They envisioned a future with "more coaches, more confident, and more capable," supported by three guiding pillars: Recruitment, Retention, and Resourcing.

The full outline of the plan is available here – please note, this is a dynamic document which is subject to change.

Two action groups have been formed to advance priority actions for the first year of the plan. Key projects for 2025 include a joint marketing campaign, support for the Rangatahi Coaching Programme, cross-code coaching workshops, and the development of a regional coaching network to facilitate resource and knowledge sharing across different sports. The first cross-code workshop is set to be held on 3 March 2025.

Kelly McCallum, a key steering group member, shared her motivation for joining the group – “After attending the Regional Sport Wānanga in mid-2024, I knew I wanted to be part of a coaching movement that values the influence of coaches and dedicates their resources to develop coach capability. Creating a collaborative coaching pathway that ranges from community to high performance ensures Northland will build sustainability within the coaching context.”

Through her work with High Performance Sport New Zealand in 2024, McCallum successfully piloted a programme running high performance coaching workshops for Northland coaches, aligning with the shared vision to develop a cohesive pathway for our local coaches at every level.  “I am looking forward to the next three years to see how this grows and develops our practical influencers (the coaches)”, McCallum concludes.

For more information or to learn how you can get involved in coaching, please contact Ellie Eastwood, Regional System Connector at Sport Northland elliee@sportnorth.co.nz

Article written by Ellie Eastwood, Reigonal System Connector