Each week from now until the annual ASB YSPOTY awards dinner in November, we will profile past winners as we count down to the 25th annual event which honours the top young college sportspeople in the region.
Simon Rea (Auckland Grammar) 2000
Simon Rea's tennis exploits for Auckland Grammar won him the 2000 ASB Award for top young male school sportsman.
"That year is etched in my mind as a really special one. I had such a wonderful overall experience at Auckland Grammar and that year was filled with great memories, particularly on the sporting front. From memory, we won the Auckland and national titles and I was really lucky to be a part of such a strong team. We had a lot of fun together and we were superbly led by Mr (Barry) Schmidt who we all enjoyed a terrific relationship with. He's been someone that's been such an important part of Auckland Grammar for so long and his role with the tennis team was one that we all benefited from enormously," said Rea.
Now 32, Rea is happily ensconced in Australia, and has made quite an impression in the coaching ranks, having been the recipient of the 2013 award for Coaching Excellence, High Performance at the Newcombe Awards.
Quintan Sanft (De La Salle) 1995
Two years after Jonah Lomu exerted a huge influence on the fortunes of his Wesley First XV, a diminutive but talented first five was running the cutter with aplomb for De La Salle and the all-conquering New Zealand Schools. Quintan Sanft and his schoolmate Patrick Petelo cracked the NZ Schools, alongside players of the ilk of Doug Howlett, Caleb Ralph and Xavier Rush.
"De La Salle had a good team that worked hard for each other. It was also special to have my brother Doug in the team, so there are some very good memories playing for De La Salle, and we played some good rugby," says Sanft. Sanft went on to play rugby and sevens for Samoa, as did his brother Doug. Quintan's clear highlight was two tests on the 2000 Manu Samoa tour of Wales and Scotland.
While he played most of his New Zealand rugby in Auckland and Counties, Sanft can call himself a Samoan-Kiwi-Scot, having lived in Scotland since 2003, coaching and playing for club side Kirkcaldy.
His wife plays rugby too and they have three children.