There aren't too many of the modern Black Cap cricketers - cricketing mentor Dave Richardson hasn't worked with.
Richardson was the first coach to pluck a young Daniel Vettori out of schoolboy cricket as a 16-year-old and give him a go at senior level. The rest is history. Even now Richardson is considered a mentor to Vettori, who is arguably one of New Zealand's cricketing greats.
He has also worked alongside the likes of Scott Styris, Jacob Oram and others who have worn the black cap of New Zealand.
Now Richardson want to put those skills towards finding the next Vettori or Kane Williamson right here in Rotorua.
Richardson has been appointed development manager by Rotorua Cricket Association.
His role will include developing and enhancing the cricketing skills of school-aged youngsters.
The 53-year-old, who moved to Rotorua earlier this year says in that small time, he has seen enough to know there is plenty of talent coming from both primary and secondary schools to give New Zealand another great cricketing legend.
"It's just a matter of nursing those skills and channelling their effort in the right direction and that's what I'm here for."
Richardson was a high performance coach for Bay of Plenty Cricket last year - but funding for his position ran out and he was made redundant.
However, Rotorua Cricket Association saw an opportunity and hired him for the last three-months of the cricket season as a cricket performance coach, to help improve skills and interest in the sport.
His popularity with Rotorua's young cricketers and their parents encouraged the association to renew his contract.
Richardson will be based at Smallbone Park, where he will teach the youngsters batting, bowling and fielding skills as well as what it takes physically and mentally to be a good cricketer.
"Like all sports it's not just physical ability that makes you great it's how hard you want to work to achieve it, which makes the difference."
Another resource Richardson wants to tap into are the parents of the children.
"There are some really great parents out there. I had a number of dads [earlier in the year] who were fantastic. Parents have got really good skills that we need to be able to utilise but right now there is no vehicle for them to be involved."
Richardson said the state of cricket in Rotorua and the surrounding areas was in dire straights of a revamp.
"Many of the smaller towns in our region don't have cricket teams. What needs to happen is we need to take a new approach to the sport.
"Sure, we still hold on to our traditional side of cricket, like test and one-dayers. But we have a lot of instant cricketers. Those cricketers who want to play Twenty20, because they don't have the time to spend all day at cricket. That's what we need to look at. Eventually I want Smallbone Park to be known as the home of cricket."