Lifestyle nets new instructor

The appeal of the Bay's beachside lifestyle is set to benefit tennis here - and the Gate Pa club in particular - with one of New Zealand's top coaches relocating to Tauranga.
After more than 12 years nurturing the finest young talent in Auckland and around the country, national girls selector and longtime national junior travelling coach Peter Blow has joined Gate Pa as club coach.
With 20 years of coaching behind him, including establishing and heading up the Auckland high-performance academy since 2007, Blow says when the offer came to join Gate Pa the timing was perfect.
"I'd decided to get out of the high-performance role in Auckland, and the academy had lost a quarter of our players. Nine or 10 are on scholarships in the US now, so the time was right.
"My in-laws live here, my wife Leanne and I holiday here all the time. Luckily [previous Gate Pa coach] Cassandra Kidd rang to say she was leaving town and asked if I was interested in the job, that was pretty good."
Serving as Gate Pa's coach in two stints over the past seven years, Kidd moved on for family reasons, club president Mike Callard says.
Now 41, Blow swapped life as a merchant banker for tennis coaching at age 21, working with clubs in Counties Manukau and as an Auckland squad coach.
Having competed through the rep grades, he'd represented the Counties-Manukau/North Harbour/Northland regional block and rose to just outside top 10 in national ranking. More recently, he's won three New Zealand masters doubles titles on the trot from 2007-09.
It's in coaching that Blow's made his biggest impact, though. Tennis New Zealand travelling coach for the past decade, he has helped hone the country's most promising players in the 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s age groups.
Guiding New Zealand sides to three Australian teams titles, he was also national team coach for the junior world championship on three occasions, including progression to the world group in Czech Republic in '03.
Taking up his role at Gate Pa last week, where the club has about 120 junior and 100 senior members, Blow is looking to build both numbers and skill throughout the age range.
There's more in his sights, too. "I know [Waikato BOP Impact Tennis coaches] Brandon Rowe and Andy Donald pretty well and am really looking forward to helping them at regional level ... Waikato-BOP is one of the country's best regions going on recent results by juniors up to 18."
If any further proof was needed that Blow's lifestyle move isn't about putting his feet up, he's also making regular drives to coach at Rotorua Tennis Club.
With the Auckland high-performance academy renamed Complete Tennis Academy in '09, Blow served as head coach there last year. Prime Minister's Scholarships took him to Australia's national coaching programme in '03 and Florida's world-renowned Bolletieri Tennis Academy in '06, where Andre Agassi and numerous others launched world-class careers.
"Nick Bolletieri can't hit a ball but he's an amazing coach. It's all about the motivational side," Blow says.
Living at Papamoa with plans to build a family home in the area, Blow says the lifestyle appeal was instant.
"We can take the kids down to the beach after work. It's a couple of minutes' walk away, a great way to finish the day. Our oldest, Jack, is 6 and the others are 4 and 1 so the move here is not too big a change for them. It's where we want our kids to grow up."