3 days ago
Volts name former batter Tasman-Jones as coach
Former Otago top-order batter Josh Tasman-Jones knows his first challenge will be to win people over.
The 35-year-old has been appointed Volts coach on a two-year contract, and he is not shying away from the fact he will have to earn people's confidence.
He takes over from Ashley Noffke, who left a year into his two-year contract.
Tasman-Jones' coaching resume is not lengthy.
He has coached at club level and has led the Otago A team for the past two seasons.
He has also been a Volts' selector since 2022.
The Otago Cricket Association has taken a punt on him, but it has also put in place a solid support system.
Former Black Caps coach and interim Otago coach Gary Stead will remain on in an advisory capacity.
And former New Zealand all-rounder Andre Adams has been named as the assistant coach.
Stead has a wealth of experience and Adams has a decent resume as well.
Adams has worked with the Bangladesh national team as a bowling coach and had a stint with Auckland in the same role.
He played a lot of cricket, clocking 173 first-class games.
Tasman-Jones said between having both men in his corner to bounce ideas off, and with the likes of Neil Broom and Shayne O'Connor also around the team, he had plenty of support.
"Having a man like [Stead] in our corner as a team and as an association is incredible," Tasman-Jones said.
"It fills me with a lot of confidence, and he's already been a massive source of confidence."
While Tasman-Jones said he appreciated the perception people might have about his lack of coaching credentials, he believes he has the skills to be successful in the role.
Otago famously took a punt on Mike Hesson, who went on to help the province win its first list A title in 20 years before carving out an impressive international record with the Black Caps.
Hesson was even younger than Tasman-Jones when he took over the Otago reins.
But he helped stitch a rag-tag bunch from all corners of the country into a competitive unit.
Tasman-Jones moved down to Dunedin from Auckland 10 years ago to have a crack at making the Volts lineup.
He made his debut in a first-class game against Northern Districts at the University Oval in March 2017 and made a good impression.
He was trapped lbw for 35 by Ish Sodhi but swatted 59 not out from 61 balls in his second innings.
But he was unable to establish himself in the lineup, and played the last of his seven first-class games in March 2019.
He had a second dip in 2021 and opened the batting for the Volts in the Super Smash.
"Straight off the back of that, I went into a selector role with the Volts, which has been a great experience and kind of got me into this kind of coaching way of life and given me a great perspective on the game from the other side of the rope."
One of his challenges as a young coach will be to negotiate his way through the potentially difficult terrain of previous relationships and his new responsibilities.
"I think the relationships I have with the boys will hold me in good stead.
"I know how they operate and I can get straight into the conversations.
"So I think it's a really positive thing, to be honest.
"But having had that experience from the selection side of things over the last three years, I've had to be really mindful of that, drawing a line with some of those relationships and just keeping a bit of distance.
"I can see how it could be perceived, but I'm completely comfortable with managing those. It is about just having really good up-front conversations."
Balancing his family life with his new demands will be another hurdle. Tasman-Jones and his wife Chelsea have a 2-year-old son, Miles, and a 6-week-old baby son Levi.
Tasman-Jones previously worked for Dynasty Sport as a regional sales representative.
One of his clients was New Zealand Cricket. He has gone from supplying the playing kit for the Volts to supplying the plans for success.
