2006 Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the Year Awards
- The five winners (from left to right): Moni Burns from Invercargill, Terry O'Neill from Napier, Alfred Welsh from Taipa, Binh Nguyen from Hamilton and Melvin Tudor from Dunedin.
The 2006 Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the Year Awards were presented at a star-studded event on 10 November 2006.
The country's top 17 national finalists, drawn from some 2,700 nominations, attended.
The judges were Mike McHugh (Tall Ferns coach), John F Reid (former NZ cricket player), Waimarama Taumanu (former Silver Ferns Captain) and Suzie Muirhead (former Black Sticks captain).
Dallas Seymour, former All Black and Rugby Sevens player, was the guest speaker, and sports broadcaster Brendan Telfer was the MC for the evening.
National winner
Alfred Welsh, Northland, Taipa - Taipa Area School
Alfred Welsh has been described as someone that 'lives and breathes sport'. He has coached for over 22 years. Alfred stood out to the judges not only for his dedication and commitment to coaching many sports, but also for the values and sportsmanship he instils in his players. His patience, dedication and continual belief in them helps build their self-esteem, team spirit and technical skills.
Alfred goes out of his way to ensure that everyone who wants to take part in sport can, and has learnt the rules and skills for a number of different sports in an effort to provide further opportunities for children to take part in sport. He has coached athletics, cross country, rugby, rugby league, surfing, swimming and touch rugby.
Alfred coached 18 teams in 2006, personally transporting many of the players to and from games so they could make it across the river at high tide. He has also personally paid the club fees for players that couldn't afford it.
Chair of the judging panel, Mike McHugh of SPARC, said "All 17 finalists are very special people, but Alfred stood out as a shining star of volunteer coaching. He is a prime example of the lengths volunteer coaches go to, to ensure Kiwi kids get a chance to play sport and have fun doing it."
Runners up
Melvin Tudor, Otago, Dunedin - Taieri College Cycling Club
Melvin is the coach, manager, mechanic, fundraiser, media liaison, time keeper and father figure to the Taieri College Cycling Club. He received a large number of nominations from his cycling squad, which acknowledged all he had done for the team. 'In the day and age we live in, it is a very rare occurrence to come across a person so willing to give as much as Mel," wrote one nominator.
Binh Nguyen, Waikato, Hamilton - Hamilton and Rototuna Karate
Binh is a karate teacher in Hamilton who instils confidence, values and discipline in everyone he teaches. Not only does he contribute many hours a week to coaching but he also contributes financially, to ensure his students can travel to events and are well fed before they compete.
He is described as "a top man with integrity, humour and drive". Binh has overcome his own hardships to work to give the youth of Hamilton opportunities he never had.
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Lifetime Achievement Awards are made only when a volunteer coach with a longstanding community commitment emerges. In 2006, the judges awarded this prestigious honour to two people.
They are:
Monica Burns, Southland, Invercargill - Southland Netball
Monica (Moni) has devoted more than 50 years to coaching netball. The heartfelt nominations that came through for her - some even from Australia - are a testament to her dedication and passion for the sport. Aside from her understanding of the game, and building up her teams to achieve success, Moni has been credited with teaching life lessons. "I would have to say that my outlook on life, and many of my successes, are from lessons I have learnt from Moni," wrote one nominator whom Moni had coached for 25 years.
Terry O'Neill, Hawkes Bay, Napier - Eskview Soccer Club
Terry has coached at the Eskview Soccer Club for 40 years. A generous, kind and caring man, Terry's commitment and dedication to his sport is unwavering. Terry has developed a loyal following of children and adults who he has coached over the years. He spends nearly every waking moment helping the club, be it coaching, preparing for games or acting as chairman.
Updated | 19 Jan 2007.
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