KEY POINTS:
Name: Chris Gibbes
Age: 33
Working hours: Flexible, averaging 50 hours/week
Employer: Waikato Rugby Union, other rugby unions, other sports codes, schools
Pay: $38,000 to $48,000, plus vehicle, phone
Qualifications needed: Coaching and rugby experience, teacher training advisable
Career prospects: Coaching, sport administration, teaching, overseas jobs
Describe your job
There are three RDOs (rugby development officers) in Waikato rugby and each has a different portfolio. My area is coach development, another looks after the players and the physical conditioning and fitness officer looks after the training side. We deliver coaching courses and up skill coaches from those with junior kids' teams through to rep [representative] teams.
We might do a skills camp or meet with a school or club coach or a manager and be talking about players. Coaches might ring me and say that their team's scrum or another part of their game on the weekend needed some work. We'll meet, plan and then go in for a session with that team. Or I might just meet with the coach and use video analysis to watch the game and talk through ideas.
Or I might go as an observer to training. The RDO responsible for players organises skills camps and trials. We have a pretty in-depth tracking system on players within the rep programme and he monitors that, sets up fitness testing and so on. We range from the junior kids and coaches right through to the high performance end and the guys just below the Air New Zealand Cup level. It's a diverse range and each group has separate needs we try to meet.
Why did you choose the job?
I'd been coaching for a while with Waikato, and teaching, and the opportunity came up. I love being involved with learning because it just grows you as a person hugely. I saw that I could learn and I think I have a bit to offer and can add value to the organisation.
Why is it an important job?
People see the Air NZ Cup or the rugby on TV as the shop window. In our case there may be 30-odd players involved at that top level. To get them we may have to go through 200 or 500.
We need to start identifying these potential players at a young age and that's where we come in. We try to create quality - quality systems, quality players - at a younger age so that when they progress through the ages it's a snowball effect. They start small and raw but by the time they get to Air NZ Cup level there's a decent canvas for the coaches to work with.
What's the best part of the job?
The best part is seeing guys you've worked with running on to Waikato Stadium wearing the colours. It's a pretty tough job and you need little wins like that or to see guys progress and become better people - not just better rugby players - and have some success in their lives.
My whole drive is coaching development and to see coaches coming through courses and leaving with far better experience and knowledge is pretty satisfying as well. The worst part of the job is the time away from my family. There's a lot of night and weekend work and that gets a bit tough.
What are your strengths?
My teaching background. I had three years at Te Awamutu College. I trained late after I came back from playing rugby in Japan. You've got to have good people skills. You could have all the rugby knowledge in the world but if you can't put it a cross it's not worth anything. You've always got to get better at listening. There are a lot of people out there with a lot of knowledge.
What's your job hunting advice?
Get some coaching experience, some understanding of the game and see what you have to offer. Get an understanding about how teams and players work and perhaps with some tertiary education you can get into the system.
What are the essential qualities of a rugby development officer?
You've got to be a good communicator, be organised, have a level of understanding of the game sufficient to work across all areas from junior kids to reps. It's not a job where you can flounder around. You need to get in and get the work done.
