Canterbury sports are committed to teaming up and finding strength in collaboration, and a global pandemic has only heightened interest in working together – to the credit of all codes involved.

Squash Canterbury has been determined to attract more female coaches to the sport, and to grow youth participation.

In the context of a global pandemic, both goals remained important. In the spirit of adapting and innovating, squash simply approached them in a slightly different way.

“Ensuring anyone new to squash has a great experience when they start is essential for the survival of our sport, we just have to get this right,” says Squash Canterbury Junior Development Officer, Di McCoy.

Dedicated to the idea of developing coaches to deliver quality experiences, Di led a world-first concept for her sport in Canterbury.

According to Sport Canterbury Community Coach Advisor, Michael De Bono, “They wanted to do it a little differently, in terms of developing coaches. Rather than just voices from squash, they invited voices from sport.”

Squash Canterbury brought in external coaches as coach developers – in the past, they had relied on our own people, from within the code.

“They sought this fresh perspective and it has paid off. Their coaches are inspired, the numbers of new female coaches are growing, and youth participation is on the rise,” he adds.

Canterbury Cricket enlisted Toby Doyle to join the initiative, and Hannah Beatson came on board with expertise from cricket as well as netball. Michael Peacock added content to the training, representing Sport New Zealand’s Balance is Better perspective.

De Bono credits the sports for working together and acknowledges the role his team has played to give the collaboration a nudge.

“What we’re trying to do from a Sport Canterbury perspective, is trying to drive collaboration between the regional sporting organisations. This will provide a really good opportunity for us to share what someone has done,” he says.

“For Squash Canterbury, collaboration was the goal – to get fresh voices in.”

De Bono acknowledges that this approach can create apprehension in a traditional sporting environment. 

“Di went out on a limb to develop squash people. She saw the gap and wanted to do something different in that gap.”

“I don’t know any other sports like squash that have used externals – but I do hope others might consider following their lead,” he adds.

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Article added: Monday 19 October 202