Te Puke High School director of sport Martin Ash highlights character-building aspect

Te Puke High School director of sport Martin Ash says while development and participation are the goals, it’s hoped success will follow.

Development rather than sporting success is the primary goal of Te Puke High School director of sport Martin Ash.

Martin began in the role at the start of the year and, with the winter sports programme about to start, he hopes to see his work so far paying off.

“I’m a big believer that sport fosters really good character and if we can get more students involved in sport and if we can develop students through sport ... whether that be at a lower level or a higher level, it grows your character, so that’s one of our major goals.”

The school still has a sports co-ordinator, Ben Hopkins. Martin is charged with producing a strategic plan for sports participation and development.

He says while development and participation are the goals, it’s hoped success will follow.

“If we can develop our coaches, if we can develop the players, then success flows on from that development, but sporting success can’t be our overarching goal.”

Also part of the strategic plan is looking at ways of funding sport to assist in its development.

“We are looking how we can fund sport in our school because the cost of sport is ridiculous at the moment.

“If you look at the pastimes in New Zealand, Kiwi kids love to get involved in sport and the financial cost is a barrier to get kids involved, so my role with the strategic plan is how we can reduce those costs as well.”

Every code has a teacher in charge and Martin is working closely with them.

From the start of term two, the focus will be on the main winter codes — rugby, hockey, basketball, netball and football.

Martin is also the teacher in charge of rugby.

“So I’ll be working with our coaches there — with our first XV coaches in particular — to see how we can develop their coaching.

“I’m a level 3 advanced coach as well so I’ll be providing that expertise.

The coaches record videos, but proper analysis systems are not in place.

“That’s something I want to introduce. If you video your games, but if there’s no platform to analyse those games and look at those videos and say ‘here’s what we need to improve on and here’s why’, then it’s a waste of time videoing your game.”

Martin’s sporting background is in rugby and he is also Paeroa Rugby Club’s first team coach.

At his first school, Tangaroa College in Auckland, he coached the school’s first XV to a national co-ed school title.

“That was the start of my coaching journey.”