Kiwi coaches making a global impact

Stephen Flemming is a successful coach in the IPL. File Photo / APN

Kirsten Hellier's emergence as a top shot-putting coach in China begs the question: how many other little-known Kiwi coaches are making an impact in foreign lands? Everyone knows the Robbie Deans, John Kirwan and Warren Gatland stories - but what about those flying more under the radar?

ONE: KIRSTEN HELLIER

After spending more than a decade with Valerie Adams, Hellier has made a seamless transition into the Chinese athletic programme.

While she has spent time with several promising youngsters, her main role was to revitalise the career of their No 2 ranked shot-putter, Li Ling. After just three months working together, Ling recorded a personal best 19.94m to take gold at the Asian Games last month - her first effort over 19m in competition since 2007.

Ling gave most of the credit afterwards to her "new foreign coach", admitting she has thrived with the variety and science that Hellier has introduced to her training.

Ling's unexpected success at the Asian Games - she is now China's No 1 - has given 41-year-old Hellier the best possible bargaining chip as she sits down with Chinese authorities to negotiate the terms of a new deal leading into the 2012 London Olympics.

The New Zealander's family commitments mean she wants to spend less time travelling and Hellier believes Ling would blossom with extended training periods Down Under.

- Michael Burgess

TWO: VERN COTTER

Once the coach of Bay of Plenty and an assistant to Robbie Deans at the Crusaders, Cotter probably ranks as a forgotten man in his native New Zealand.

But he has become arguably New Zealand rugby's hottest coaching export outside the likes of Deans and Gatland.

Now coach of Clermont Auvergne, Cotter took his team to their first national championship title earlier this year and has guided the side to the French finals for each of the four years he has been involved. No wonder they love him.

A canny and capable operator, Cotter recently signed an extension which will keep him in France until mid- 2012.

In an interview earlier this year, Cotter suggested that he'd need some job certainty before coming back to New Zealand. But it is far from beyond the realms of possibility that Cotter, 48, could yet be a contender to coach the All Blacks.

Clermontare in 7th place in France's Top 14 national league but are close behind the leaders and last weekend beat top-of-the-table Toulouse.

- Paul Lewis

THREE: STEPHEN FLEMING

Watching the struggles of the Black Caps in India (and other places) has made many yearn for the days when Stephen Fleming captained the team. Some have also hankered for the icecool Fleming to re-invent himself as a national coach.

Few realise he is already a successful coach overseas - taking India's Chennai Super Kings to Twenty20 wins in the IPL and Champions League.

But surely the call of the national team is too strong to ignore? Well, no. Fleming prefers the two months' involvement with Chennai to the year-round commitment to the Black Caps and recently ruled out any involvement for at least three years and maybe ever.

His coach in the Black Caps, Steve Rixon, perhaps put it most succinctly: "He would handle it no problem, but at international level you are not going to get the best coaches involved. The IPL is lucrative, it is enjoyable and it is short.

"They [good coaches] will say, 'do I need to be away from home for 12 months of the year; running all around the world, for probably less money?' That scares me for international cricket."

Besides, who'd want to take on the Black Caps right now?

- Paul Lewis

FOUR: RODDY WOOD

Wood has played and managed numerous polo teams around the world, after basing himself in Britain each northern summer from 1984.

He has managed New Zealand in the last two Coronation Cups at the Guards Polo Club (2006, 2010) and ran the professional Palmera team of Sheikh Mohamed Alhamrani for 18 years.

The 54-year-old also managed the Guards' club at Windsor - which includes Prince Charles as a member - for 11 years from 1991 and the Coworth Park Polo Club at Ascot from 2005.

Despite living in a world of much pomp and ceremony, Wood is renowned for his earthy nature. That's a welcome quality when dealing with millions of pounds worth of polo ponies each day and advice for patrons, such as that at the Guards' club, where helicopters can be landed.

Wood returns to New Zealand during the northern winter. His latest project is developing his Waireka property in Canterbury to get local youth involved on the polo scene.

- Andrew Alderson

FIVE: STEVE McDOWALL

Just over two years ago, Steve McDowall was coaching the North Harbour Marist under-8s. Now he's preparing a side to play at next year's Rugby World Cup.

McDowall works as forwards coach of a Romanian team which recently qualified for their seventh World Cup, and the last spot remaining, with a two-legged playoff win over Uruguay.

He will join John Kirwan (Japan) as two All Blacks from the World Cup winning side of 1987 to return as a coach for next year's tournament.

He was initially brought on as Romania's fitness trainer - McDowall is a former top judo exponent and personal trainer who counts Jonah Lomu among his former clients - before switching to coaching the forwards.

He has little coaching experience but, as a former All Blacks prop, has plenty of knowledge and practical experience and admits he's learning on the job.

Romania won't win the World Cup - they aren't likely to progress out of a group which also includes England, Argentina, Scotland and Georgia. But with McDowall on board, they will attract some fans.

- Michael Brown

SIX: GAVIN WILKINSON

He went to the United States in 2001 and has never left. A recent appearance on Fox Sports even hinted at an American accent.

A tough tackling defender and midfielder, Wilkinson played 124 matches for the Portland Timbers in the USL First Division (a fully professional football league, one tier below the MLS)before becoming assistant coach in 2005 and head coach a year later.

He was named USL coach of the year in 2007 and 2009, the latter award after guiding the team to their first regular season championship. The Timbers, who have average crowds of 10,000 at their home games, also managed a league record 24- match unbeaten run with the New Zealander at the helm.

Wilkinson is one of a handful of Kiwi coaches offshore, with Paul Marshall (Portsmouth Academy), Jason Batty (San Jose Earthquakes), Clint Gosling (Newcastle Jets), Ken Dugdale (Vollen UL) and Aarran Lines (Buffalo Flash) the most prominent.

The 37-year-old Wilkinson switched roles this year, becoming general manger and technical director as the club prepares for its MLS debut in 2011.

- Michael Burgess

SEVEN: HUGH McCUTCHEON

McCutcheon continues to impress on the United States volleyball scene.

Originally from Christchurch, the 41-year-old came to prominence in the best and worst of circumstances at the Beijing Olympics. His wife Elisabeth's parents were attacked by a suicidal, knife-wielding local man who eventually jumped from a 40-metre high balcony on the Drum Tower.

The incident saw McCutcheon's father-in-law, Todd Bachman, killed and mother-in-law, Barbara, critically injured.

As coach of the US men's Olympic team, McCutcheon missed his side's first three games to comfort his wife. The team went on to win the gold medal - America's first since 1988 - with the players initialing TB and BB on the heel of their shoes.

McCutcheon took on a fresh challenge last year - coaching the US women's team. They have never won an Olympic gold medal, world championship or world cup but earned silver at Beijing.

- Andrew Alderson

EIGHT: CHRIS NILSSON

There are few more captivating sights in British sport than the 156-year tradition of The Boat Race between the rowing eights of Oxford and Cambridge universities.

Munich 1972 New Zealand Olympic oarsman Chris Nilsson has been Cambridge coach for the last two races before leaving the role in June. Nilsson won this year but lost last year.

The 60-year-old looks like a Bond villain, wearing a black eye-patch courtesy of a childhood accident, but is one of the most affable individuals in the sport, with a handshake that feels like your hand has been seized in a baseball mitt.

Nilsson has always been a fan of smarter, not harder, training and this year's Light Blues trained half an hour later (6.45am) than tradition and, in somewhat of a scandal, even missed the odd Friday on their way to victory. To add to the drama, the seating order was changed just weeks before the race.

Nilsson previously had a spell as assistant coach at Oxford and spent four years at Rowing New Zealand.

He coached the men's four to the 2007 world championship but could not get them or doubles scullers Nathan Cohen and Rob Waddell on to the podium at Beijing.

- Andrew Alderson

NINE: RENE MOLLER

As a professional tennis player, Rene Moller reached modest heights. He once lost a Howick junior doubles semifinal to current Herald on Sunday art director Rob Cox.

Moller was ranked a career-high 1096 in 1993 and won a total of US$1304.

As a coach, however, he has worked with some of the best - Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, James Blake, John Isner, Xavier Malisse and Mardy Fish. He's been a touring coach for both Mary Pierce and Australian Sam Stosur, last year guiding Stosur to the French Open semifinals. He's also spent time working with New Zealand No 1 Sacha Jones.

Moller has spent most of the last six years at the Saddlebrook Tennis academy in Florida, widely recognised as one of the world's best.

Moller is one of a surprisingly large number of Kiwi tennis coaches working overseas - at last count it was more than 50.

Among the most recognisable are the likes of Chris Lewis, Russell Simpson, Kelly Evernden, Julie McDaniel (nee Richardson) and Steven Guy.

- Michael Brown

TEN: DAYLE HADLEE

After 12 years in the national coaching system, including 10 in charge of the former New Zealand Cricket Academy at Lincoln, Hadlee took up one of the two head coach positions at the ICC's global academy in Dubai.

He's been at arguably the best equipped cricket facility in the world since February 2009.

The 62-year-old runs the programme's bowling component as players practise on pitches simulating conditions throughout the world using soil from South Africa, Australia, England and the subcontinent.

Hadlee intends to stay in the job for at least another year but would like to finish his career as a Dennis Lillee type specialist who goes to clinics in various countries, preaching the finer points of rhythm and swing.

- Andrew Alderson