Softball: Don Tricker tipped to retire as Black Sox coach

11.45am

Softball New Zealand chief executive Hadyn Smith fears he will soon be searching for a new coach for his triple world champion Black Sox.

While Don Tricker insists he has made no decision on his coaching future, Smith has all but resigned himself to losing the highly regarded Wellingtonian to retirement.

Tricker led New Zealand to a historic world series hat-trick in Christchurch last month with a batting line up regarded as the most powerful ever assembled in world softball.

"He hasn't said that (retirement) officially, but I think he's said enough to me over the last year that would indicate I've got a hell of a lot to do to change his mind," Smith said.

He is reluctant to pressure Tricker into renewing his contract as the Black Sox job is a voluntary position.

Tricker would also have to wait five years for a shot at his own world series three-peat after capturing his first world title in East London, South Africa, in 2000.

The next tournament has been delayed a year until 2009 to take it out of the four-yearly Olympic Games cycle.

"I hope the euphoria of it all will see him carry on but the final decision is Don's," Smith said.

"I'm certainly not going to stand over him with a whip and force him to stay. It's an amateur sport and Don's been in the job since 1998.

"That's a long time for a person to take out of his life...he's got children that are younger than that (his seven-year reign as coach)."

Softball New Zealand hope to have a world series review, including input from players and key staff, completed by the middle of next month.

The coaching job will be advertised after an April 18 board meeting if necessary.

"I don't think Don will ever be lost to softball," Smith said.

"If he does retire I'd like to think he would stay in the background, perhaps assisting with the planning process or helping out with coaching."

Tricker, a senior adviser for high performance coaching at Sparc, said his busy career and young family meant he had not given his coaching future much thought, although he realised he needed to make a decision soon.

"That's one of the detriments of being a volunteer coach, I've got other priorities at the moment. But you need an opportunity to reflect on your success before making a decision.

"I also don't want to take away from the success of the boys at the moment."

While Smith said losing someone with the technical knowledge, planning skills and mana of Tricker would be a "huge loss", he believed Softball New Zealand were well placed to move forward.

"If someone like Don Tricker had walked away 20 years ago, I think it would have put softball back five years.

"But it's evolved and I don't think you could say, given the talent of our players, that the Black Sox revolve around one person," Smith said.

"We have enough senior people who can take control without things going backward."

- NZPA