Kiwi Campbell from Horouta Waka Hoe waka ama club in Gisborne has been nominated for the coach of the year award at the upcoming Halberg Awards.
Rain, hail or shine, Campbell is committed to her craft.
“The passion, the drive really comes from our grassroots levels, our rangatahi kids, seeing them grow, that's where champions start transitioning through the grades,” says Campbell.
She’s been nominated for her role as coach of the world champion NZ Women's Elite waka ama team.
“It's really awesome to see our sport footing among some of our mainstream sports, so to see us up on this level- I remember back in the days we were a small sport but now it has really grown in New Zealand,” says Campbell.
Day in, day out, she’s a driving force behind Horouta Waka Hoe Waka Ama Club.
She says it takes “a lot of passion, commitment, dedication. A lot of planning that goes into things, a huge amount of time and energy to be producing top athletes on a world stage”.
It's all about developing youth and setting them on the right path according to the coach.
“I think for our Māori kids and other cultures, it's actually helping them transition through life, building good values for them to make good decisions as they become adults and for them to give back to their community.”
The 56th ISPS Handa Halberg Awards will be held on Thursday 21 February 2019 at Spark Arena in Auckland.