Te Hāpaitanga: Empowering women in high-performance coaching

The pursuit of excellence in professional sport doesn’t recognise gender boundaries – yet female coaches have long faced an uphill battle for recognition and success. Te Hāpaitanga is rewriting the playbook and recognises that diversity isn’t a buzzword – it’s the key to unlocking untapped potential in the coaching realm. In the second part of our series, Luke Kirkness discovers how women are advancing their careers through the course.

In the world of high-performance coaching, success often hinges on the possession and adept use of invaluable tools.

Through Te Hāpaitanga, female coaches have the chance to hone their skills and emerge as empowered leaders, ready to navigate the complexities of high-performance sports.

Melodie Bosman, a former Black Fern, and an assistant coach with the Hurricane Poua and USA Eagles, participated in the inaugural cohort of Te Hāpaitanga and told the Herald it wasn’t just a coaching programme; it was a life-changing experience.

“It’s because of the tools that you get given in the programme – they don’t tell you how to use them, you’ve got to learn to pick them up and develop them into the style of coach that you are ... I coach with more confidence, clarity, and precision in how I’m trying to extract an objective from the training sessions that I give now.”

The opportunity to explore and develop these tools, coupled with mentorship from seasoned coaches, facilitated exponential change in her coaching approach, leaving the former Tasman coach feeling significantly more confident than before. But the programme’s impact extended beyond the realm of coaching too.

Former Tasman head coach Mel Bosman talks to the team ahead the round four Farah Palmer Cup match between Tasman and Northland in 2021. Photo / Getty Images

“Hand on heart, Te Hāpaitanga has been a bit of a game-changer. Coming into it, I prided myself on being a solution-focused coach – having solutions in my tool bag that if something ever went wrong I was able to fix. But I was able to learn through some extremely challenging times that isn’t necessarily the best way forward; but if I could learn to be a preventative coach and foresee those problems before they arose, how much better would the space be than just trying to put band-aids on.

“You adopt the learnings to your husband, friends, family, to other coaches around you, having that vision to be able to foresee anything that’s potentially going wrong is a better way forward. It does require a lot of brain power but it’s been worth it for me.”

And her advice for aspiring coaches considering the programme? “Do it. Go in with an open mind and embrace the learnings and challenges. It gives you the unique tools that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. It’s up to you to explore it and take yourself to the next level and really challenge yourself.”

Jonelle Quane was also in the first cohort. In 2019, after more than eight years as a national selector and coach for Surf Life Saving New Zealand, she took a step back to consider her goals and ambitions. She was invited to Te Hāpaitanga by long-time mentor Lyn Gunson (the former Silver Ferns captain and former Te Hāpaitanga programme leader) and says the programme gave her the confidence to make a career change.

“I saw the role of professional development manager for Canterbury Rugby advertised and my instinct was to say no I can’t do that. But one of my mentors, Richard Smith, said go for it. And I did and I got the role.”

Quane credits Te Hāpaitanga for her landing the role.

“I had to have the confidence to convey what I had to offer to rugby players to help them achieve their goals, overcome their challenges and provide them with general life skills that reflected the importance of life outside rugby.

“While I’m involved with a completely different sport now, my role is very similar to my previous work with high-performance athletes, in particular supporting them to thrive in their sporting environments while maintaining a healthy life balance, off the field in this case.”

Meanwhile, Tarena Ranui, the director of football for Melville United in Hamilton and graduate of the second cohort, says Te Hāpitanga wasn’t just about honing her coaching skills, it was about embracing her identity, culture and unique coaching philosophy.

“I can’t name just one highlight, there were simply so many. However, being immersed in a community of coaches was and continues to be a real benefit. Even in a sport like football that has a lot of coaches, it can be lonely,” she said.

“There are very few high-performance Māori women coaches in the country and I believe we can bring a coaching approach which is unique in New Zealand and definitely a competitive advantage on the world stage. I want to bring things from our culture, the stories, history and tikanga into the way I coach that allow enhanced performance, that bring individuals together to perform collectively. I don’t believe this is something that has been seen within football before and it’s something I’m passionate about being able to contribute to the sport.

“For me, culture informs movement and movement informs culture. Te Hāpaitanga gave me permission to give life and time to this fundamental Kaupapa.”

High Performance Sport NZ just announced the 10 participants for its fourth cohort of Te Hāpaitanga (picked from 29 candidates) and features coaches from rugby league and volleyball for the first time, as well as a number of experienced coaches – some of whom have international experience already.

The successful applicants are:

• Kendra Tate, Canoe Racing
• Tessa Jenkins, Cycling
• Jessica Fuller, Football
• Emily Gaddum, Hockey
• Charlotte Scanlan, Rugby League
• Jo Morrison, Netball
• Michelle Munro, Rowing
• Anna Livingstone, Rugby
• Tess Mattern, Triathlon
• Liz Hanna, Volleyball

The first residential for the group will be held this week in Auckland with the course running through to June next year. A further 16 have been invited to join the programme by a 12-month online programme, facilitated by coaching guru Raylene Bates.

As the likes of Bosman, Ranui and Quane have shared, Te Hāpaitanga goes beyond coaching techniques, instilling confidence, foresight, and a sense of cultural identity crucial for success in their respective fields. Their stories highlight the transformative impact of the programme, setting the stage for a promising future in high performance sport.

Tomorrow, our series on Te Hāpaitanga examines the tools the course provides for high-performance coaches.

Te Hapaitanga series

Article 1: Inside the coaching revolution sweeping New Zealand

Luke Kirkness is the Sport Planning Editor for the NZ Herald. He previously covered consumer affairs for the Herald and was an assistant news director in the Bay of Plenty. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019.