Tamatea coaching Koru basketball team

COACHING ROLE: Dwayne Tamatea has been appointed coach of the New Zealand Koru under-18 girls’ basketball team. Picture by Paul Rickard

TURANGA Health Rising Suns basketball coach Dwayne Tamatea has been appointed coach of the New Zealand Koru under-18 girls’ team to compete in the Australian state championships in January.

Tamatea will travel with two Gisborne players — 12-year-old Gisborne Intermediate student Kaipo Olsen-Baker and 14-year-old Gisborne Girls’ High School student Chardonay Brown — who are in the girls’ u16 squad.

“Both girls are young, especially Kaipo, but they’re both incredibly talented and deserve their places in the squad,” said Tamatea, who played national first division basketball as a point guard for New Plymouth in 1993 and ’94, after helping New Plymouth win the second division in ’92, before moving to Gisborne in ’95.

He took over as coach of the Suns in 2008 and and has coached them for the past seven years.

“I’ve enjoyed coaching the Suns and I’m really looking forward to being involved with the Koru squad, which is a development group.

“We’re taking under-14, u16 and u18 boys’ and girls’ teams to Melbourne for the State champs.

“The u16 girls have two squads with a combined total of 24 players, and I’ll be in charge of one squad.

“We spend a week training before settling on the two teams and then it’s into the state champs, which I’m excited about.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge and to testing my coaching abilities and learning things to bring back to our local players and coaches.”

An opportunity to develop coaching skillsEven though Tamatea coached the Suns at Division 2 level and the Gisborne women’s team to the final of the Central Basketball League this season, he said he was looking at this appointment as an opportunity to develop his coaching skills at the next level — “national representative”.

“It would be nice to think I could go higher — New Zealand age-group teams, maybe even higher — but that would mean leaving Gisborne and I can’t see that happening,” said Tamatea, who also coached the Gisborne u15 girls’ team to eighth place in the national championships in Wellington.

“I’ve got a great job here and Turanga Health have been very supportive of me.

“But if I am successful on this tour it could open the door for other Gisborne basketballers to get a foot in the door for higher honours.

“I believe we have some exceptionally talented players here.

“As well as Kaipo and Chardonay, Tyrese Brown (Gisborne Boys’ High School) and Xzavier Mason (Ilminster Intermediate) are non-travelling reserves for the Koru boys’ u16 team.

“Anahera Parata (GGHS) and Payton Riri (Gis Int) are non-travelling reserves for the girls’ u16 and u14 teams respectively.

“We’ve started a development programme with 20 girls and boys getting ready for next year’s Koru teams.

“We train twice a week, with drills and games, and already five or six of them have the ability to make Koru teams.”

Tamatea said players were identified for the Koru teams while playing at tournaments around the country.

“They then go to training camps where the selectors have a look at them playing outside their comfort zone,” he said.

“They see how they get on with other players, and their attitude to training.

“But it’s not just about opening opportunities to play for New Zealand teams. A lot of Kiwi kids are picking up American college scholarships.

“The impact of Steven Adams has American colleges tapping into Kiwis.

“Basketball is pumping in Gisborne.

“We’ve got 25 teams playing mini ball every Saturday and over 100 kids from five to 11 years turning up for Sunday sessions.”