WHS Sport Pathway Update

They have been working together as a successful team since Y10 and are now in their 4th year of development. Rebecca Baker and Travis Bayler's training's are built on some clear goals, recognition that excellence is not a one-year thing, and that whether its hockey or an individual sport like athletics it takes a team to make a champion.

Goals for the remainder of the year are to be competitive at the Oceania cross country champs in August, to perform well at the NZ secondary school Athletics both as an individual and in relays and for Rebecca be a standout at the NZ U18 Hockey camp in December. So, the rest of 2019 is going to be very busy but also very structured for both.

Rebecca Baker and coach Greg Fromont have become masters of managing training, skills, timetables and workloads as the focus changes constantly from Athletics to Hockey to Cross Country, back to Hockey then finally to Athletics all in one year. That’s part of the requirement when you’re in the National teams for Hockey, Cross country, and Athletics.

Rebecca has had several offers from American colleges to take up athletics scholarships once she finishes at WHS but will be heading instead to Auckland for University and the next step in her growing hockey career, which will be her focus going forward.

She is on the NZ Hockey pathway to podium programme designed for elite juniors and Greg also looks after the strength and conditioning component of this on behalf of HPSNZ.

To make national teams in three different sports takes quite an athlete and that’s what the WHS sports pathway is about, building long term athletes.

Rebecca and Travis Bayler (current NZ 400mtrs champion) are the first two athletes to have been in the Sport Pathway programme at WHS with Greg for the whole 3 1/2 years it’s been running, and are proof that consistency and focusing on the fundamentals can take you a long way towards your dreams and goals.

In the programme Yrs. 9 and 10 are about building the foundations that will lead to success, just as much as the more technical training as seniors. Rebecca and Travis started in Yr10 used Y11 as their 2nd year and are now reaping the rewards of all that development.

The sports pathway currently has 30+ developing athletes all of who have their own dreams and goals and are just as important a part of making the programme a success as the current senior athletes and their coaches.

Greg’s as proud of his athletes exploits off the track / turf / court as on, Rebecca is current head girl and Travis head of sport and he believes the focus on developing a strong culture and values within their sport’s has helped to develop them as leaders within WHS.

Lisa Murphy
WHS Director of Sport