Don Tricker

Tricker played softball for Porirua until he was 22 then moved to Poneke Kilbirnie, claiming regional and national titles with both clubs,^[1] and played for the Black Sox on and off between 1986 and 1991.^[2]

Tricker began his softball coaching career at Poneke Kilbirnie in 1996, while he was still playing, and was named Black Sock coach two years later.^[1] He coached the team to two world championship wins in 2000 and three consecutive world titles.^[3] He retired as national coach in 2004, being replaced by Eddie Kohlhase.^[4]

In 2002, after six years in the information technology sector, Tricker was appointed as senior advisor of high performance coaching at the New Zealand Academy of Sport, a unit of Sport and Recreation New Zealand.^[5] Tricker and Auckland lawyer Mike Heron prepared a report into the All Blacks early World Cup exit.^[6] In 2010 the New Zealand Rugby Union has appointed Tricker as the High Performance Manager.^[7]

In 2018, he joined Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres as director of player health and performance.^[8]

Tricker was named coach of the year at the 2000 Halberg Awards, after leading the team to a world series victory in South Africa^[5] In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to softball.^[9]