Te Hāpaitanga
Last week, I attended my final Te Hāpaitanga (TH) residential, with my time on the programme formally coming to a close at the end of June.
Te Hāpaitanga is a relatively new initiative from High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ), operating with the specific aim of supporting more women establish careers and excel in coaching high performance sport. I have been a part of the third cohort, and the first and so far only weightlifting coach to have been part of the full programme (others have been a part of the ‘satellite group’ which runs alongside and offers online workshops).
I learned of my acceptable into the programme in December 2022, with things formally kicking off in February 2023. My progression as a coach and growth as a person since then has been….significant. The programme has served as a catalyst for my career, where the support, challenges and opportunities from TH have enabled me to get to where I am now a lot faster than I believe I would have without it.
I remember having such mixed feelings about the whole thing at the beginning; on one hand, feeling like this was such a blessing and opportunity not just for me, but for the whole sport of weightlifting from a ‘having a seat at the table’ perspective. On the other, feeling completely undeserving as a recipient…. what had I done that warranted my being there?
While I had an extensive background in coaching and knew a whole lot, I was absolutely lacking on the ‘HP’ side of things. I have never been a representative athlete. I know what it is to be dedicated, work consistently, and invest a lot in sport, but that doesn’t change the reality that I hadn’t spent any time in the HP environment besides my Team Management gig with the 2022 Commonwealth Games squad (where I was team support in the build up to the Games, at the final training camp, and attended the competition (in the audience, not out the back!)). While I wholeheartedly do not believe that to be a successful coach of elite athletes you must have been an elite athlete yourself, I do think it is problematic if you’re working to prepare athletes to succeed within an environment you yourself are not familiar with.
I no longer feel like this is a personal limitation. Through TH I have connected with and learnt from past elite athletes, current elite coaches, and HPSNZ support staff, some of whom have decades of experience. My own experience has grown, and I have now had direct and sports-specific exposure through selection as a Team Coach for four international events including the 2023 Junior and 2024 Youth World Championships. There is still much for me learn and experience, and that will come with time. The difference is that now feel like I ‘get it’, and in particular am capable and confident of getting the job done out the back at any level of competition.
On the coaching side of things, even I’m surprised with where I’m now at… in February 2023 I had the odd remote weightlifting athlete, was working in-person with youth (all in their first two years of lifting), and a few club-level adults. I supported around 15 athletes in total, and was the primary coach for 9 or so. I was coaching on top of a fulltime job, and had a few extra hours a week of youth strength & conditioning.
Now…. lol. I recently left my job and am in the process of growing my coaching to fulltime (if you read that and think ‘oh I wonder if she has space for more athletes’ yes I do get in touch I dare you). I am working with 12 athletes remotely, and am the Head Coach of Kotahi Barbell Club. Since the club’s inception in April, membership has quickly grown to over 20. Many athletes are new to the sport and yet to compete, but our foundations are strong and I am so excited to see the club grow in both numbers and performance. I am now the coach of national champions, New Zealand record holders, and multiple athletes at New Zealand representative level. I have short-term evidence of my ability to develop athletes, and as I accumulate more years this will solidify and extend to higher levels of performance. Youth strength & conditioning is now a core offering, and I am currently working within three programmes with lots of room to grow.
Alongside TH I am working through the HPSNZ Core Knowledge programme; a series of coach education workshops across four areas of learning. This is providing further opportunities to work alongside other coaches at similar or higher levels to myself in other sports, and engage with senior HPSNZ educators and HP experts. In weightlifting, I have accessed (and am still working through) additional sports-specific education to upskill myself, including formal British Weightlifting Certification.
I cannot stress just how much more stuff I now know and understand, both in a professional sense, and about myself as a coach and leader. This has come from a combination of simply doing the thing, accessing education, and navigating the intentional and often confronting challenges the programme presented. I now feel a sense of belonging to a broad network of coaches; across many sports in New Zealand, and across the World in weightlifting. Even better, I have walked this journey alongside a group of accomplished and exceptional women, shared their triumphs and struggles, witnessed their growth as they have mine. Every time we are in a room together I am humbled, and inspired to keep working to do better and be better.
The delivery of TH has often been in ways that don’t necessary look like learning and coach development at first glance, like climbing a mountain and attempting to lead a horse. Often it has felt unstructured, and the most powerful and resonating learnings have stemmed simply from having space to reflect and question. As a person who has generally thrived in academia where there is a clear question and a correct answer, it has been confronting to spend a lot more time in the grey (and at times in silence). You know what comes from discomfort though? Progress. So annoying.
From all of this, I think the personal growth is the most significant. I have so much more clarity around who I am, what I am working to achieve, and what I bring to the table. The secret to confidence truly is irrefutable evidence; build up enough and even the pesky doubting voices in your head can’t ignore it.
Now, I am simply grateful and proud. Proud myself and proud of my sport, and the people within it working tirelessly and often without recognition to push us forward. Grateful to have had this opportunity and satisfied that I justified my selection. Also very aware that this is just the beginning haha.
