Naomi Shaw coaches Gisborne’s coaches

EXPERT ADVICE: Naomi Shaw and Leesa Kingi at a workshop for up-and-coming softball coaches on Tuesday. Picture by Liam Clayton

DURING coaching workshops this week in Gisborne White Sox coach and player Naomi Shaw praised the state of softball development in this region. The Softball New Zealand development officer was in town to run the workshops with Tairawhiti Softball development officer Leesa Kingi.

Coaches from primary to senior levels were given tips on topics such as managing parents, how to build a team culture and how to tailor practice sessions for different age groups.

During her visit, she got an insight into the sport’s progress here. Gisborne softball had grown since she held coaching workshops here in 2010, she said.

Players numbers had increased and the game was stronger, and many people had put in a lot of time and effort. She was impressed with Sport Gisborne’s passport scheme to provide training and accreditation for coaches and umpires.

“It sits alongside what we as a national organisation are trying to do,” she said.

The number of junior umpires in Gisborne was also a feature, she said.

“Nineteen umpires in the junior programme. That is unheard of around the rest of the country. Sport Gisborne is so proactive and they are a really good case study for other associations.”

Visits to Gisborne over the past few years from prominent people in the softball world, such as former Black Sox captain Mark Sorenson, were a testament to the hard work of Tairawhiti Softball and Softball New Zealand, she said.

These organisations, along with Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti and Sport New Zealand, were working well together.

“That is significant for the progress of the game here.”

In the past few months, Shaw has travelled to many regions in New Zealand to promote softball development. Her expertise is in demand and people usually have to make bookings a year in advance.

“Again, that is Tairawhiti Softball being proactive to get me here,” she said.

Others, such as Shaw’s daughter Kiri, also a former White Sox player, are being lined up for further development workshops.

Two umpiring coaches are in Gisborne this weekend to work with senior and junior umpires — Wiremu Tamaki, who is the only New Zealander to umpire in an Olympic gold-medal match, and Wellington umpire Gavin Shepherd.