Sport Bay of Plenty, in conjunction with Sport New Zealand and the National Sporting Organisations, have launched the Bay of Plenty Performance Coach Advance programme for 2016/17.

The aim of the programme is to advance the knowledge, thinking, practice and performance of Bay of Plenty coaches. One of the main pillars of this programme will be the cross-code sharing, allowing coaches to interact with each other and draw off their experiences and coaching knowledge.

Sport Bay of Plenty Coach and Talent Development Team Leader David Clarke says there are some great coaches in the Bay. File

Coaches will receive individualised professional development and coaching observations, as well the opportunity to engage experts from various performance environments on a variety of topics.

The vision is to see the coaches making a significant change in coaching practices that ensures their athletes are effectively prepared for entry into the High Performance Arena says Sport Bay of Plenty in a media release.

Sport Bay of Plenty is one of six regional sports trusts out of 17 to be have been given the opportunity to develop a local approach to the programme along with Auckland, Wellington, Otago, Waikato and Christchurch.

Each coach is nominated by the coaching directors of the respective National Sporting Organisations to Sport New Zealand followed by an interview and selection process.

Sport Bay of Plenty will have 13 coaches on the 2016/17 programme they are:

James Ballinger (TGA) Basketball

Kelsey Carter (ROT) Gymsports

Nyree Hannah (TGA) Hockey

Franki Traini (TGA) Hockey

Kylie Lindsey (TGA) Squash

Julieta Diaz (TGA) Synchronised Swimming

Kate Honour (ROT) Equestrian

Marty Bourke (TGA) Rugby

Victoria Grant (ROT) Rugby

Barry Gardiner (TGA) Football

Maylene Meroiti (ROT) Netball

Jared Gravett (WHK) Squash

Ash Rawson (TGA) BMX Racing

Sport Bay of Plenty Coach and Talent Development Team Leader David Clarke says he is excited to be working with such a great group of performance coaches from the Bay.

Each having a thirst to continuously develop in order to improve their performance and the performance of their athletes, says Dave.

Sport Bay of Plenty, Sport New Zealand and BayTrust CoachForce have all engaged with the programme to provide excellent development opportunities for the coaches.

Entry to the programme takes place in May each year and is expressly through the National Sporting Organisation Coaching Directors and then endorsed by Sport New Zealand.