Phil (Kearnsey) Kearns and John (The Rattler) Edwards are both former rugby hookers whose sporting careers had significant parallels but even more significant differences. Both attended elite rugby playing high schools (Kearns attended Newington College and Edwards, Shore School) but both failed to win selection in their school’s first fifteen teams. Edwards knew that top grade … [Read more...]
Surfing in the land of ice and fire – exploring Kamchatka… Siberia’s wildest region!
In the sixties, adventurous surfers stowed away on ocean liners to discover the exotic waves of the Hawaiian Islands. What a blast that must have been? Even if you got caught. In the seventies, the next generation of surfers with wanderlust took cheap flights to Indonesia to discover destinations like Bali’s Uluwatu and Kuta. Wave-mad hippies like Rusty Miller and Stephen … [Read more...]
A boy and his team – coach makes his mark early!
The muscle-bound sports master with the short-back-and-sides haircut and sergeant-major booming voice lumbered across the playground straight towards the group of eleven-year old kids who were having their regular daily lunch-time soccer ball juggling session. “Have we got a soccer team?”, he bellowed in the general direction of the kids. The group of half a dozen … [Read more...]
Who was Europe’s first surfing woman? Introducing the wonderful Witch of Newbury.
It’s a fact of life that many men are threatened by powerful and skilful women. Nowhere is this more so than in sport. While women’s sport might just be entering a golden age right now with women’s soccer, rugby, basketball, Australian football, cricket, surfing etc. emerging from the shadows to not only provide fun and exciting fitness alternatives for women but also to … [Read more...]
Betterball – Socrates irons out basketball’s wrinkles.
Let’s get this straight. I love basketball. It’s my favourite sport of all. Rugby used to be my favourite sport but, over the years, my preference has changed. The detailed reason it has changed is better left for another occasion but suffice it to say that rugby, in comparison to basketball, is just plain dumb. It’s not as dumb as rugby league, Australian football or soccer, … [Read more...]