2009 Coach Accelerator Programme
The following coaches were selected for the inaugural 2009 Coach Accelerator intake. Each coach has maintained fulltime coaching responsibilities duration their first year. The financial package provided to these coaches includes $50,000 from SPARC per year, which has been topped up by their NSOs. The amount of this ‘top up’ was negotiated between each coach and their NSO (Bios current as at induction to the 2009 Coach Accelerator programme).
Steve Hansen (Rugby)
Steve Hansen, the All Blacks assistant coach and forwards coach, joined All Blacks Head Coach Graham Henry in the All Blacks coaching team in 2004. He had earlier succeeded Henry as coach of Wales in 2002.
Together with Henry and fellow assistant coach Wayne Smith, Hansen has helped guide the All Blacks to 55 wins in 63 tests including four Tri-Nations titles. Hansen led Wales to the quarterfinals at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
His coaching career began in Canterbury, highlighted by NPC First Division titles in 1997 and 2001. He served as assistant coach of the Crusaders from 1999-2001 helping the franchise collect two Super rugby titles. He also coached New Zealand A on their tour to Europe in 2000.
Mike Hesson (Cricket)
Dunedin-born Mike Hesson was director of coaching for Otago Cricket from 1996 to 2004.
He is currently based in Dunedin in his fourth season as head coach of the Otago Volts. Under his tenure the Otago Volts won the State Shield 2007-08 and the State Twenty20 2008-09.
He is also currently coach of New Zealand ``A’’ team – the team drew its test series vs India A in India, and drew the test series and won the One Day and Twenty/20 series against England Lions.
Yvette McCausland-Durie (Netball)
Yvette McCausland-Durie has played touch rugby at senior provincial level, was a member of the NZ Netball squad for 14 years as a provincial netball player, and was a National Track and Field World Junior representative.
She has combined playing and coaching since 1991 culminating in her role as NZ Under 21 head coach from 2006-2009 following the team’s success in 2005 in gaining the title as World Youth Cup Champions, when Yvette was assistant coach. Yvette has coached all levels of the game, combining educational qualifications, playing and teaching experiences into her coaching style.
Yvette completed her Masters thesis in 2007 on Maori netball player retention issues and is passionate about athlete development in the wider sense of the word.
Yvette is currently Project Manager of TU TOA – a supervisory arm of The Correspondence School -- offering holistic individualised programming for secondary aged students which combines her passion for teaching, youth, netball and sports administration.
Yvette is the Central PULSE Head Coach in the ANZ Championships.
Dave Thompson (Rowing)
Dave Thompson was born and raised in the Hawkes Bay and this is where he also started his coaching career.
For the past nine years, Thompson has been living in Cambridge with his wife and three children.
For the past three seasons he has been head coach of Hamilton Boys High School. He is also coach of the New Zealand Under 23 Coxless four for 2009.
He was previously head coach for the NZ Junior rowing programme 2008, top Junior NZ Coach 2008, and Waikato Secondary Schools Coach of the year 2008.
At International level he has coached:
2008 – Men’s Junior Eight – Silver medal at Junior World Championships
2007 – Under 23 Men’s Coxless fours – Silver medal at the U23 World Rowing Championships
2007 – Men’s Under 23 Single – Gold at the U23 World Rowing Championships
2006 – Women’s Junior Coxless four – fifth at the Junior World Championships
2005 – Men’s Double Scull – third at the Junior World Championships.
Tom Willmott (Snowboarding)
Born in Shrewsbury, England, Tom Willmott has been living in New Zealand since 1998 - based in Wanaka.
His personal snowboarding highlights include representing the United Kingdom at World Cup level competition in the halfpipe; he placed third at the New Zealand Open in 2004; and was British Snowboardcross Champion in 2006.
From 2001-2005, he coached regional and national junior teams, and has been coaching the New Zealand national team since 2005.
Willmott, 30, has coached members of the New Zealand snowboarding team to podium performances at Youth World Championship, United States Nationals, World Cup, World Cup Finals and Open Series events.
In 2001, he completed a Bachelors degree in Sports Coaching from the University of Wales, and in December 2008 completed a Masters degree in Physical Education at the University of Otago.
He enjoys snowboard mountaineering and when he is not coaching works as a heli-guide for Backcountry Helicopters in Makarora.
Willmott says he has been on ``endless winter’’ since 1997 but regularly defrosts in the tropics for a surfing holiday between northern and southern hemisphere winters.
Dayle Cheatley (Track Cycling)
Dayle Cheatley, of Wanganui, is currently New Zealand track cycling assistant coach.
Cheatley was a competitive cyclist for about 18 years. He raced for New Zealand at junior and senior levels for more than 10 years, mostly on the track where he won more than 10 Oceania and national titles.
His roles have included being Southland’s track and road cycling coach, and coaching development manager for BikeNZ.
Cheatley has been part of the coaching staff for the New Zealand team at World Cups and World Championships and was part of the support team for Alison Shanks, who won the world individual pursuit title in Poland in March.
He is the son of former New Zealand cycling coach Ron Cheatley.
Dayle Cheatley’s wife is Catherine Cheatley, a Beijing Olympian who is currently racing for a professional road team in the United States.
Updated | 31 Jul 2009.
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