Sharrock continues on coaching pathway

Chris Sharrock has been named as the Assistant Coach for the New Zealand Junior (Under 19) badminton team.
Photo / Supplied

Whanganui sportsman and former WHS student Chris Sharrock has added another accolade to his resume as he departs Saturday for Perth as the assistant coach of the New Zealand Junior Badminton team.

Sharrock, who is the Sport Coordinator, Sport & Recreation Services at Massey University, will help the Under 19 squad as they compete in two tournaments over the next nine days, starting Tuesday.

"New Zealand has two teams entered in the Asia-Pacific Games teams competition, where our top team is the highest seed, and will expect to take the title," he said.

That will be followed by the Australian Junior International and Sharrock said while they are disappointed with the relatively low entry numbers from the locals compared to previous events, the team has the opportunity to come back with titles across five disciplines.

"Something that would greatly boost their world ranking points."

Sharrock, who was once ranked fifth in New Zealand men's and mixed doubles badminton, spent October 2017 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia with the NZ Juniors as their manager for the Junior World Championships.

They came 20th out of 44 teams and Sharrock appreciates this step up to be able to directly coach the players.

"I am really looking forward to the added responsibility...and learning a lot more about myself as a coach in the process.

"I am really thankful to Badminton New Zealand for another opportunity to represent our country through assisting our up-and-coming young players to be the best they can be, and to help them achieve their goals of being able to compete with the best on an international stage."

Sharrock, a former Wanganui wicketkeeper-batsman, also confirmed he will be coming back to local club cricket this season after the trip.

"I took most of the cricket season off last year, to focus on badminton and coaching while I was living in Auckland, which is now paying dividends."

By Staff Reporter
Wanganui Chronicle 8/9/18