where are they now? | Martyn Croy

 Memberzone recently caught up with former Blackcap and Otago legend (although never forgetting his Hamilton roots) - Martyn Croy.

'Crosya' has been involved in the high performance area of sport for some time in his role with High Performance Sport NZ and he provides us with a unique insight into his working life. 

​We caught up with the man himself just at the Olympics are about to kick into gear.

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With the Olympics less than a month away, your days at High Performance Sport NZ must be pretty full on at the moment?
Yes, but lions-share of the work now focuses on the next Olympic cycle, and beginning the planning around fine tuning HPSNZ support to sports for Tokyo. I also have a role to play with Snow Sports NZ, supporting the preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics, hence “business as usual” in that space. Am still hoping to get a bit of couch time under the belt, taking in some Olympic Games action.

Working with elite athletes must be pretty rewarding, what are the things you enjoy most about your role?
My role is one step removed from athletes, and actually spend majority of time working with both the athlete performance support staff (science and medical practitioners) that engage directly with coaches and athletes, and the sports High Performance Administrators (i.e. High Performance Directors) that help lead their programmes and create the environments that will produce success.

Are there any athletes that you think are ready to surprise at Rio?
Unfortunately the days where athletes pop out of “left field” are rare, hence I’m not envisaging significant results from athletes that haven’t already had a level of success in the 12-18 months leading in to Rio. That said, two athletes still relatively new to the International scene, but with recent notable performances behind them to warrant a level of expectation, are Tom Walsh (Shot Put) and Eliza McCartney (Pole Vault). A couple of medals here would be a good bet.

You are based in Christchurch these days, but being a lad from the ‘Tron’ and playing most of your career in Otago – who do you support in Super Rugby these days?
Somewhat confused when it comes to pinning allegiances to any one team, given my gypsy life. Have a soft spot for the boys from the Deep South, particularly given their form over the last couple of years….looking good for another Super Rugby title. Funnily enough, I have three young boys that separately support the Highlanders, Crusaders and Chiefs.

You are a previous NZCPA Board member, but other than that, have you been involved with cricket at all in recent years?
Have played a very small role in helping with some wicket keeping coach support to Canterbury Cricket, both at age group and first class level. Always an enjoyable exercise, and great fun working with players of today and tomorrow. Good for the soul, but terrible for the back and knees!!!