Kelston Girls' coach wins award

Overseer: Award-winning coach Liz Page keeps an eye on proceedings as the Kelston Girls' College senior team warms up.

By Justin Latif

Award-winning coach Liz Page is driven by her desire to see teenagers succeed. Page has won a Sport Waitakere coaching scholarship worth $500 and attended the national coaching convention in Wellington on May 25-27. The lessons she learnt will help her coach the top netball and rugby teams at Kelston Girls High School where she is also a physical education teacher."I used to play for Te Atatu and College Rifles," the 29-year-old says."But this gives me so much satisfaction. I get bored with playing now."The Avondale resident says her coaching philosophy is based around players taking ownership for their teams. She even allows them to create their own game plans. "We don't just focus on drills and skills we also look at things like making the team more cohesive."They need to get on," Page says. "If they're not playing a flowing game it's because they don't understand each other."Part of her success is understanding different cultures and learning styles and adjusting her techniques to suit the group so players stay in the sport longterm."I want them to have a laugh," she says. "I see at other schools they don't want to play because it becomes too serious." The captain of the premier netball side at Kelston Girls' High School has been coached by Page for three years now."She can relate to us," Zoe Amohau says. "She's an authorative figure. We respect her and we do what she says - she makes it fun," the 17-year-old says.