Every day, coaches give their time to make a difference in the lives of young New Zealanders.

Sport is fuelled by more than 300,000 coaches in New Zealand. Most of this workforce are volunteers who play a significant role in enabling sport at all levels in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Volunteer coaches who give their time to supporting our tamariki and rangatahi are everyday heroes who do a wide variety of day jobs and directly impact the experience of young people, keeping them in the game for longer.

Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa, in collaboration with Coach For Life, is taking the opportunity during season transition to make coaches feel recognised and valued, due to their important role in our communities.

'Everyday Heroes’ is a campaign highlighting how important coaches are to the health and wellbeing of young people, through being the backbone of our sporting system.

It also showcases many different kinds of people who step up to be a coach - you don’t need to be an expert in sport.

The campaign will run for the next four weeks to align with the end of the winter sports season and tournament week for many young people - a perfect time to recognise coaches and say thanks for everything they do.

Players and teams can thank their coach by visiting thankscoach.co.nz to send their own personalised e-card or video message.

- Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa

Article added: Tuesday 10 September 2024