Mr. Whiting recognised for his service to school sport

Mr Whiting outlined his lengthy involvement in school sport below:

During my school years at Melville High School I represented the school in athletics and rugby, including 2 years in the 1st XV. When I left school I played club rugby before getting more involved in coaching. I have had various roles as a coach, manager, administrator, selector, referee and supporter of secondary school sport ever since I began teaching at Hillcrest High School in 1981. I have coached the 1st XV’s at Hillcrest High, Matamata College, Howick College and Pakuranga College, as well as coaching numerous lower grade teams over the years, including as Principal of Hillcrest High. I coached the Hillcrest High School 1st XV to Australia in 1983 and co-coached the Matamata 1st XV to Hong Kong and Japan in 1988. While teaching in the Waikato, I was a Waikato Secondary School rugby selector for a number of years. I have also helped out with cricket administration, management and coaching since returning to Hillcrest as Principal, as well as Teacher in Charge of Rowing. I coached  a number of my own children’s cricket teams while they were at school. I also gained a Level 1 Cricket coaching qualification and completed an Associate Referees Course while teaching in Auckland.

As well as coaching many rugby teams, I was also Teacher in Charge of Rugby at the aforementioned schools, and Teacher in Charge of Cricket at Howick and Pakuranga Colleges.

Since becoming Principal, I have been heavily involved in sports administration in the Waikato. I was chairperson of the Principals Sports Advisory Board and then Chair of the inaugural Waikato Secondary Schools Sports Association from 2017 until 2021. I continue to follow school sports with interest, spending most Saturdays watching our teams play at school as well as other venues around the region and further a field.