Trent Hogg impressing in the throwing circle

Throwing events have seen a resurgence in Southland since Chris Knight moved down south.

He came to Invercargill 10 years ago and since then has won Ricoh Coach of the Year at the ILT Southland Sports Awards, spent time as Athletics Southland President, has picked up international coaching qualifications (jumps and throws) and coached a number of Southlanders to Athletics New Zealand medals and titles.

Trent Hogg is the latest to shine, recently smashing the Southland U20 shot put record and last year was

ranked fifth U20 in the country for the discus, fourth for shot put and 8 th for hammer.

His three NZ Championship medals would surely be more if last year’s champs weren’t cancelled.

Rankings were for 2021; this year’s the championship season has barely got under way but you can be sure

being a year older, a year stronger and a year more experienced he will feature even more prominently.

Knight has guided the soon to turn 19-year-old for four years, from raw beginner to one of the best young

throwers in the country.

Caption: Southland thrower Trent Hogg. Photo: Debbie Fahey

He joins Quinn Hartley in this, with Hartley a highly accomplished long and high jumper, also under Knight’s guidance.

To date Hogg has earned three NZ Championship medals (which would be more if Covid hadn’t cancelled

championships), Southland U20 shot and U18 shot and discus records as well as Southland Secondary

Schools hammer and discus records.

Next for Hogg is the New Zealand athletic champs. Perhaps. Covid has put many events on hold and while

Athletics New Zealand is revising plans for the championships to go ahead, nothing is certain in these times.

According to Knight, Hogg’s value to the squad is more than setting the right example, he is a mentor to the up-and-coming young throwers. His leadership skills and patient guidance confirms the saying that it takes a village to make a champion.

Hogg epitomises the advantages of training in a squad situation, with athletes feeding off and learning from each other.

This is a big factor in Knight’s coaching philosophy. As he puts it, “I want current senior squad members such as Trent, Rico Fisher, Quinn and Tessa Baird to support the younger ones as this helps them think about what they are trying to do, plus the fact that the younger ones look up to the more experienced squad mates.

“And athletes that have come before, for example, Jack Welsh and Emma Ryan, have also had an impact on my coaching and what I do. I’m always learning new ideas and thoughts often change,” he added.

There’s the old adage that it takes a village to produce a champion. Results indicate Trent Hogg has

surrounded himself with an effective village.