Andrew Henare - a Hawke's Bay man who shows how golfing kids should be coached

Andrew Henare takes youngsters Zac Swanwick and Tuhourangi Wilson out on the course in 2015. Photo / NZME

OPINION: So many people get kids' sport all wrong.

There's a bullying culture that still exists in the coaching of children.

Threats and punishments, in the form of fitness drills, routinely accompany sloppy efforts at training or poor performances on Saturdays.

Too many of us yell at our children while they're playing. Berating them for missed tackles or holding lengthy inquisitions about shots that prematurely ended an innings.

We don't emphasise fun and camaraderie enough, fixating instead on outcomes rather than healthy exercise and enjoyment.

Good coaching inspires confidence. It enables children to acquire skills and knowledge. It helps them problem-solve and become self-sufficient.

Coaching kids is also about more than just child-minding. It's about more than giving everyone a turn, but never helping anyone get better.

A good coach prepares a child for life and, in Andrew Henare, Hawke's Bay is lucky to have someone who does just that.

Henare, the head pro at Napier Golf Club, was a worthy winner of the professional coach of the year prize at the recent Golf NZ awards.

Not necessarily for churning out champion golfers - although in star juniors such as Zac Swanwick, Kayla Van de Ven and Luke Winter he's certainly doing that - but for nurturing dozens of good little citizens.

Golf's a hard sport as it is, but the coaching of juniors was done a terrible disservice by the success of Tiger Woods.

It encouraged parents to drill their children with military zeal. To prioritise golf over playing other codes, having other interests or forming friendships with fellow players.

That is absolutely not how Henare does it.

Yes, he provides children with the fundamentals to play the game, but then he largely leaves them to it.

There's no endless video analysis or the use of aids to artificially force a child to create the correct swing plane.

Henare mostly preaches fun and learning through playing. Seeing what works and what doesn't and being able to fix things yourself.

He's a stickler for some things, but they're all behavioural.

You take off your cap when you shake hands after a round. You look your playing partners in the eye and say ''well done''.

The people you're playing with aren't rivals, they're friends. The kids who play in Henare's programme are tight. They love each other's company and can't wait to play, practice or go on golfing trips together.

No one's judged on their latest score or their handicap index. It's their personal qualities that count.

In an individual sport such as golf, where your good days are likely to be outnumbered by the bad, support is critical. You need people who like you for who you are, not what you shot today.

If you get to your mid-teens and show some serious aptitude, then Henare can help you become an elite player. Ultimately, though, he wants children to see golf as a game for life and something to be enjoyed for decades to come.

We're lucky to have Henare here. For the tireless work, he and his wife Chelsea do to give children the chance to play and to form bonds that will last a lifetime.

The Henares take van loads of kids to tournaments every school holidays and the comment from hosting clubs is what a credit all the children are to Andrew and Chelsea and how wonderful it is to see the joy they get from playing golf together.

I'm not sure you can pay any junior coach a higher compliment than that.