Harris selected for coaching course

Masterton athletics coach Mark Harris will be one of two New Zealand representatives at an IAAF level three coaching course to be held in Brisbane from April 7 to 20.
His selection has been ratified by both Athletics New Zealand and the Oceania region and comes just 18 months after Harris first became active in the athletics coaching sphere after earlier having stints as CEO and high performance manager for Cycling New Zealand and high performance manager for Squash New Zealand.
Harris, himself an "ok runner"good enough to represent New Zealand at two World Student Games over 800m and 1500m, is coach of a talented group of Wairarapa youngsters currently hitting the headlines on a regular basis and he credits their success as a major factor in him being chosen to attend the course which will provide expert tuition on hurdles and sprints.
"They've been absolutely superb and obviously their efforts have helped my profile as well," Harris said, adding that their enthusiasm was the main catalyst behind him wanting to enhance his own knowledge from a coaching viewpoint."
"They are the incentive for me to keep on learning so that their potential can be fully developed," he said.
Harris is convinced, however, that the development process could be hugely advanced
by the installation of an all-weather athletics track in the Wairarapa and he is part of a committee working hard to achieve that objective.
"The all-weather surface is so much more conducive to speed work, especially when you are bringing runners to a peak for a particular event," he said.
For Harris then it's not a matter of whether an all-weather track will happen here but when
"It's not only athletics which will benefit, there are a lot of other sports which will make good use of it as well," he said.
"And schools too&⁢ would be a marvellous asset for the whole region."
Meanwhile, Stevie Paine provided the highlight of a number of outstanding Wairarapa performances on the second day of the Wellington junior track and field championships last weekend.
Competing in the girls 12yrs section, Paine won the 100m, 400m and 1500m events with her time of 4min 47.58secs in the latter being a personal best by 5secs.
Only one runner of her age group on the current England ranking list has a faster 1500m time.
Tom Quinn won the boys 12yrs 1km steeples by all of 150m and Alex Fafeita's throw of 46.5m to win the boys 13years discus was only half a metre of qualifying him for the Pacific School Games.
Another of the Paine family, Corrina, won the girls 15yrs 1500m, Molly Creagh won the girls 13yrs 1500m and April Campbell was successful in the girls 13years 100m. The dominance of the Wairarapa contingent at age group events was also illustrated by three of them winning the Wellington centre points trophies in their divisions - Steve Paine in the girls 12yrs, Courtnay Fafeita in the girls 14yurs and Corrina Paine in the girls 15yrs.