Change the game. A presentation from Sport Canterbury to address the common misconceptions around what drives sporting success in our children.

Anna Simcic will be hosting the night and you will hear from four well known guest speakers including Andrew Ellis, John Quinn, Sharon Kearney and Mark Drury who will share their personal experiences.

Anna Simcic – Anna is a former high-performance athlete who represented NZ at two Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games where she won a gold and two silver medals. She was consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world during her swimming career with a highlight of setting a world short-course record in 1992. Currently working for High Performance Sport NZ as an Athlete Life Advisor and a proud mother of 3 children, Anna is passionate about wellbeing and working with people to realise their full potential. She believes in a values and strengths based approach and brings energy, compassion and humour to the work she does.

Andrew Ellis - Andrew made his first-class cricket debut for Canterbury in the 2002-03 season. In his illustrious professional career of over 17 years, Andrew has donned the red and black more than 350 times across all 3 formats. Andy has also represented New Zealand on 20 occasions making his debut in 2012 (15 ODI’s and 5 T20I’s). A dream of his which took a decade of hard work, consistent performances, injury setbacks and grit after first making his 1st class debut to achieve this goal. The genuine all-rounder has captained Canterbury and has twice been awarded New Zealand Cricket's Domestic Player of the Year. Andrew is currently the Regional Manager at Hight Performance Sport New Zealand and is a Balance is Better Ambassador.

John Quinn - John Quinn has spent the past 20 years working with individuals and teams both in New Zealand and abroad. With a focus on resilience, teamwork and mindset, John’s mental skills coaching is highly sought-after, and he’s worked across many settings, including high-performance sport, government, education and business. With a longstanding relationship with Rugby NZ, High-Performance Sport New Zealand, the Crusaders and NZ Cricket among many others, John has also played a vital role in helping Olympic and Commonwealth athletes reach their potential on the world stage. A huge believer in the power of mindset, John loves nothing more than seeing ordinary people achieve extraordinary things. A dad of two, John is also passionate about making a difference in the lives of young people, helping them to develop the skills to succeed in this fast-changing world. John is also the Director of Wellbeing & Positive Education at Christ’s College Canterbury, where he’s committed to helping students flourish.

Sharon Kearney - Sharon has been practicing physiotherapy for over 30 years. Having worked at High Performance (Silver Fern Physiotherapist for over 16 years), within her community-based physiotherapy clinic and now the Netball NZ Injury Prevention Consultant Sharon has a broad base of variable experience. Topped off by being a mother of 3, she has coached her daughter’s netball and co-managed her sons football team. Sharon lives for sport and all the great things it brings - but also as society has changed, she appreciates the challenges facing our young sports people and the coaches and parents that try and navigate the kids through sport, activity and well-being. Balance is best but actually understanding what that looks like can be demanding but equally rewarding.

Mark Drury - Mark has over 20 years’ experience in athletic development, he currently teaches at both Canterbury and Otago Universities with a focus on physical preparation for sport, he is a Board member for Sport and Exercise Science New Zealand, and former Crusaders Head of Physical Preparation. Mark is also the owner and head coach of Elite Fit, a business that works alongside a number of Christchurch High Schools to deliver physical development programmes to our Rangatahi who want to either excel at their chosen sport or just develop a love of physical training and all the wonderful benefits it provides. As a father of two, an educator and working alongside our youth, Mark has developed a passion for setting students up for success and the importance of balancing all the training and life pressures to enhance their sporting experience

Come along for a very informative and enjoyable evening!