All the Coaches at GGWAS are Archers first, having been there and done that. Between them the society can boast over 50 years of coaching experience, plus links to coaching support from the top Archery Coaches in NZ as well as from the UK should further help be needed. Over the years they have built up close working relationships with Archery dealers in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, to offer the best training and advice they can.
As archers your coaches can call on experience in shooting longbows, horse bows (short bows), recurve bows, barebows, and compound bows. One of the society's coaches runs an ‘Archery In Schools’ business, offering Archery as a school sport to over 200 school pupils every week, 4 terms a year at all levels. The aim of the society's coaches is to see that each member of the society improves at their own pace in a friendly, sociable manner, to achieve their own goals whatever they may be. |
Colin started Archery in 1985 as a Recurve archer while at Polytechnic and has shot as a member of a number of clubs in the UK as both a Recurve and a Compound archer. Colin holds Archery Coaching qualifications from the UK at Foundation level (1995), Club Level (1999) and Regional Level (2006) as well as New Zealand Level 3 (2008 - old scheme) , Development Level (2016) and Performance level (2021). When he left the UK to move to New Zealand he was half way through his training to become a UK senior Coach.
He holds professional qualifications in Sports Psychology, a National Sports Coaching certification from Newcastle College in the UK, and a Small-bore and Air rifle Instructors Diploma. He is a member of Sports Coach UK and is still in contact with some of the top Archery Coaches from that region. He has represented New Zealand as a Coach on 2 occasions looking after the Junior Trans-Tasman teams in 2014 and 2016. He has also been on the New Zealand High Performance Coaching Team and was a member of the New Zealand Archery Coaching Commission providing a great deal of the detail that now forms a part of the new Coaching levels. In the UK he has looked after a number of County (Lincolnshire), Regional (EMAS) and National (UK) level archers both Junior and Senior, Recurve and Compound, that shot or still shoot at International level. This includes a UK archer who went on to win a Bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - he still coaches this person remotely alongside a team of fellow coaches. Colin has held county and regional records in the UK for Recurve, Compound and Longbow. Some of these records are yet to be broken, and he also holds some New Zealand National records. Colin now shoots all bow types mostly for fun. Colin was awarded New Zealand Archery Coach of the Year 2019. Colin is a New Zealand National Archery Judge. |
Maria was given the New Zealand Archery Coach of the Year 2015 award for her work, not only with the Grey Goose Wing Archery Society, but for her work in schools in the Canterbury region offering Archery as a school sports activity to over 200 pupils each week.
Maria started Archery in the UK and soon rose to be one of the top archers in Lincolnshire and the EMAS region; on moving to New Zealand in 2009 she has never been out of the top 10 national rankings. Maria lives for the sport and to help others get the best enjoyment they can from it. She is trained in offering Archery to the blind and has worked to give Archery as an activity to special needs schools. She is the main coach for archers with special needs within the society, and these archers are fully integrated into the society's main shooting line on an equal footing. Maria's coaching at the Grey Goose Wing society is invaluable, as she runs the beginners courses and leads the have a go sessions, with the support of all the other coaches at the society. She also acts as an intermediary for those joining the society after leaving school or deciding to take up the sport on a more than casual basis. In 2018, Maria became a member of the Archery New Zealand team on the International stage, shooting at the Archery World Cup stage in Shanghai, and winning Bronze at the Oceania Games in New Caledonia. In 2019, Maria became World Indoor IFAA champion when this competition was held in Wellington NZ. |
John's specialty is shooting and coaching barebow. He is also well accomplished using longbow and Mongolian horse bow, and has been known to have fun with his Kyudo bow (Japanese longbow). John has a depth of knowledge in many styles of shooting.
John's coaching skills are invaluable when running beginners courses and have-a-go sessions. He is very approachable and passes his knowledge on with ease. John looks after our growing number of barebow archers. |
Tony is a well accomplished compound archer, with many medals and trophies under his belt.
Tony's main coaching role is to help on the society's shooting line, ensuring that the field is secure and both archers and the general public are safe, thus helping the other coaches to work more closely with the archers. He is very knowledgeable and very approachable. A great asset to the club. |
Victoria started shooting aged six at Silverspoon Bowmen of Spalding in the UK, and started shooting competitively after moving to Christchurch New Zealand. She has been ranked as one of the top archers in her age group across New Zealand. Ten years on from first picking up a bow, she completed her Foundation Level coaching qualification to help out at the club and with Archery in Schools sessions when able.
As a Development Coach, she is aiming to bring her experience and knowledge as a young Archer to those who wish to begin taking part in the rewarding sport of Archery. Her main focus is to enjoy the sport first and go for scores second, as it is for the love and enjoyment of Archery that we all pick up a bow first. |
Julia, with her Development Coach status, bridges the gap between our growing number of young Archers and those who shoot at a competitive level within the club.
Julia took up Archery as a school lunchtime activity in early 2015, and has since risen to be both Junior and Senior National Champion. Julia is a member of the Archery New Zealand team on the International stage, shooting in a number of Trans-Tasman competitions and in the Oceania Games. Julia's main focus is on her own shooting, with a long-term goal of being an Olympic archer, however she looks after the line and helps out the other coaches when she can. |
Sophie is one of our newer coaches, having taken the Archery New Zealand Development Level qualification as part of her Year 13 studies. Sophie is starting her coaching by helping out with beginners' courses and supporting the society's newer archers.
Sophie is also an accomplished ballerina, and can often be spotted practicing behind the shooting line while waiting to collect arrows. |
James is our other newer coach, having decided to join our coaching team after suffering a shoulder injury that rendered him temporarily unable to shoot. James also was awarded the Archery trophy from Burnside High School for his support to the school's archery section while a Year 13 student.
James has taken to coaching well, and while he is slowly recovering he enjoys supporting the other coaches and gaining experience in both recurve and barebow archery. James helps out with our beginners' courses, and with general coaching on a Sunday morning, supporting Colin. |