Latest news with #Winders
Newsroom
03-06-2025
- Sport
- Newsroom
Sam Winders helping the next generation to get smart
Sam Winders was in no-man's land when she came home to New Zealand. The 47-test Silver Fern had been playing for the Giants in Sydney for the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball season. She spent the last part of the season sitting on the bench and she came home with renewed focus. 'I thought 'Oh my gosh, I am no longer cut out for this life of sitting on the bench'. I just want to play, whatever that looks like,' says the 29-year-old from Rotorua. There were limited spots in the regions she wanted to play so for the first time in her career, she thought of life outside of netball. Winders was lining up to study a Diploma of Teaching when she got a call from Silver Ferns physio Sharon Kearney. 'Shaz called me and said: 'There's a job going at WBOP and I think you should apply',' says Winders. 'I thought 'why not'. It was the first time I had a proper job interview in years – it felt like my first day at school – but it has all fallen into place and I'm loving it.' Winders, who attended John Paul College in Rotorua, where she was deputy head girl, is the new NetballSmart Development Officer for the WBOP region. 'I'm teaching stuff that I am so passionate about, and to a degree, a bit of an expert in. Being able to move well and doing things that make you a better person and a better player,' she says. 'It's a full circle moment, 10 years ago, when the NetballSmart warm up first came out, I was a fresh face university student slash netball player. So going from being an ambassador of NetballSmart to now being fully embedded in it and helping the next generation of players is cool.' Winders in full flight for the Magic against the Central Pulse in Porirua in 2022., Photo: Michael Bradley photography In 2024 ACC accepted 23,796 netball-related injuries which came at a cost of $48 million to help people recover. This was the highest number of netball injuries and cost for the past five years. ACC has partnered with Netball NZ since 1997 to deliver NetballSmart. It is the only injury prevention programme to focus solely on improving outcomes for females. In 2025, the Ferns lead physiotherapist Kearney has driven the revision of the programme. The revised warm-up focuses more on the landing and deceleration components of the warm-up, and it is more game-specific. Kearney says Winders is an ideal role model for the programme. 'Sam is a hard-working and very competitive player who sustained minimal injuries at an ANZ Premiership, Suncorp Super Netball and international level. She ran hard, decelerated strongly and landed each jump well – no matter how challenging. 'Sam's ability to share her expertise directly with players on achieving success, integrated with NetballSmart messaging to minimise injury risk is invaluable. 'That is why Sam was great as a NetballSmart ambassador and now as one of our regional officers – she can help tell the story of what it takes to play netball like she does.' Winders is focused on developing more young athletes in New Zealand. ACC data shows that the 10 – 14 age group (6,306 claims) and 15 – 19 age group (4,513) had the most netball-related injuries in 2024. 'We don't have the depth of athlete that we need,' she says. 'Often in netball, we bypass the athlete, and we go, 'who's tall, who's got the physical attributes of being a netball player?' Let's pick them. 'So, you get to the Silver Ferns, and people can't jump or turn fast or accelerate well or stop efficiently – they just lack those athletic capabilities or may have sustained significant injuries on their journey to the top. 'In the sessions I am leading, we are taking that concept and running with it. We train them to be athletes, embedding in habits early which gives them freedom to do whatever they want in the game and decrease injury risk.' Winders says for young people, they want to prevent a serious injury, like rupturing your ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) at all costs. In 2024, ACC accepted 373 ACL related netball injuries, and 335 of those were female. Sam is the new NetballSmart development officer in the Western Bay of Plenty. Photo: Supplied 'I have seen it in my teams, the huge personal cost an injury like that has, it puts everything on hold and some players, they might not be the same again. 'I grew up here in Rotorua and we had so many talented players who didn't make it to the next level so that is a big drive for me, making sure we are looking after our local players.' Winders says it's a special feeling coming away from a team training where the players are fully engaged in learning the NetballSmart dynamic warm-up. She says players who complete the warm-up have up to 50 percent less chance of injury. 'From the team point of view, the teams who have the fewest number of injuries are generally the most successful as well.' And for Winders, she hasn't hung up her bib, just yet. For now, she is playing club netball for Ngongotahā in the Tauranga Premier Competition. 'I don't think I will ever lose that love of playing and competing, but I'm also getting huge rewards from working with our young players.' ACC claims – netball injuries In 2024 ACC accepted 23,796 netball-related injuries which came at a cost of $48 million to help people recover. In 2024 ACC accepted 373 ACL related netball injuries, and 335 of those were female. What is NetballSmart NetballSmart is an evidence-based framework made up of six principles. It helps improve your performance in sport by preventing injuries. The revised warm-up focuses more on increased emphasis on the landing and deceleration components of the warm-up and it is more game-specific. For more:
American Military News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
American flag flap has local veteran seeing red
Local officials appear to be on different wavelengths when it comes to one seemingly simple question, who is responsible for lowering and raising the American flag outside the Amesbury Public Library. The issue came to light recently after a local Air Force veteran who served during President Jimmy Carter's administration noticed the flag outside the Main Street municipal building is still at full-staff following Carter's passing on Dec. 29. 'I'm going to be walking up Mason's Court looking at the flag at full-mast on Thursday morning on the day of Jimmy Carter's funeral going 'what has happened to America?'' Phillip Winders said. The library's flag is within eyesight of another American flag being flown by a nearby bank at half-staff. It is also is in stark contrast to its counterpart near the Amesbury Fire Department which is also flying at half-staff. Following the former president's death at age 100, President Joe Biden ordered flags at all federal properties to be flown at half-staff for 30 days. Around the same time, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey ordered flags at all state buildings to be flown similarly. City Communications Director William Donohue said the city is adhering to Healey's gubernatorial order to keep main or administration building flags at half-staff. 'Amesbury's City Hall does not have a flagpole. As such, the pole at the firehouse has been identified as our designated flagpole for the city with fire fepartment staff as the caretakers who monitor the flag orders,' Donohue said. Donohue went on to say that many flags across the city do not have caretakers. Winders, a 68-year-old veteran who served from 1977 to 1981, was walking down Main Street a few days when he noticed the flag. 'You can see the public library flag at full mast and the flag in front of the bank at half-mast,' Winders said. Bothered by its appearance, Winders said he contacted Amesbury Public Library Director Aimie Westphal and asked for an explanation as to why a private institution such as a bank would lower its flag to honor Carter but not the library. 'They said we'll refer this to DPW (Department of Public Works), apparently they don't have a key,' Winders said, referring to library staff. When asked for comment, Westphal directed all inquiries back to Donohue. 'He is the point person on this topic,' Westphal said. Unsatisfied, Winders called City Hall on Tuesday and was told by a member of Mayor Kassandra Gove's office that the only flag the administration was responsible for was near the fire station. 'They did thank me for my service, but they did tell me as far as they were concerned the flag wasn't coming down,' Winders said. As a veteran who served under Carter and lost friends overseas, Winders said that having the flag at full-staff is 'a particularly biting insult.' 'This is the hill I'm choosing to die on. Not every soldier gets to choose which hill they want to die on,' Winders said. City Councilor President Scott Mandeville said the city may have missed a detail when it came to the library flag. 'We do the best we can and try to keep track of everything and do these things, and sometimes, unfortunately we do have events or situations that slip through the cracks and don't always have the resources immediately available to address and correct,' Mandeville said. He did share his belief that the flag should be lowered, especially with a veteran coming to specifically request it. 'We should lower the flag to half-staff in honor and memoriam of President Carter and all that he's done for this country,' Mandeville said. Reached for comment, Director of Veteran's Services Kevin Hunt said an email was sent out from Gove's office on Jan. 2 ordering all city flags to be lowered to half-staff until Jan. 28. 'So it sounds like the library is out of compliance,' Hunt said. ___ (c) 2025 The Daily News of Newburyport Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
NZ Herald
24-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Ex-Silver Fern Samantha Winders teaches netball injury prevention as ACC claims rise
Winter sports-related injury claims and costs have consistently gone up over that period in Bay of Plenty. Rugby union led the pack last year, with nearly 5000 claims costing more than $10m. The 1504 netball claims cost just over $3.2m. Football, basketball, and netball injuries were most common among 10-14-year-olds, whilst rugby union and rugby league injuries were most common among 15-19-year-olds. Winders, a former John Paul College deputy head girl, spent nine years with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and played 47 tests for the Silver Ferns. She has not hung up her bib yet, playing club netball for Ngongotahā in the Tauranga premier competition. Winders said she managed to avoid any serious injuries during her professional playing days, when she was an ambassador for NetballSmart. ACC has partnered with Netball NZ since 1997 to deliver the programme focused on improving performances in sport by preventing injuries. Winders said her regional development job was about teaching, a vocation she had always felt called to. 'It's very much a teaching role, but not in a classroom setting, obviously in a netball setting, and that's something I feel like I'm a bit of an expert in.' As the development officer, Winders works with coaches, players, schools, centres and clubs to help develop strategies to improve performance and decrease injury risk. NetballSmart is an evidence-based framework and includes a revised warm-up that focuses on key game-specific movements such as landings and deceleration. Winders said she had a responsibility to develop the athletic side of a netball player, setting a good foundation in injury prevention and management. 'Injury management doesn't just happen on the netball court or in prevention. It starts well before that. 'A big part of it is preparation, warming up properly and moving well, but at the same time it's sort of empowering athletes to take responsibility for themselves in the way they prepare for the game.' She said NetballSmart was about breeding 'good movers' who lived by their principles. 'NetballSmart speaks for itself, it's a smart way to approach netball. 'If you have a good, strong foundation, then you will prevent injuries.' She was 'very grateful' that netball was and remained such a 'massive' part of her life. 'It's a pretty basic sport, but there is so much room for growth and development within it … it's taken me all over the world." She could not imagine ever losing her love for playing and competing, but said she also found working with young players very rewarding. 'I really would love to see more players from this region crack it, because they have the ability to.' Silver Ferns lead physiotherapist Sharon Kearney has driven a revision of the programme. 'Sam's ability to share her expertise directly with players on achieving success, integrated with NetballSmart messaging to minimise injury risk, is invaluable,' Kearney said in a statement. 'That is why Sam was great as a NetballSmart ambassador and now as one of our regional officers. She can help tell the story of what it takes to play netball like she does.' Winter sports injury claims ACC data for 2024 in the Bay of Plenty showed: 1504 netball claims costing $3,216,405 2485 football claims costing $3,449,577 4912 rugby union claims costing $10,500,091 995 rugby league claims costing $2,276,739 1721 basketball claims costing $1,719,023.
CBS News
14-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Sonoma Valley Unified trustee resigns after incendiary comments about Trump supporters
An outspoken Sonoma Valley Unified School District trustee resigned Thursday following incendiary comments she made about supporters of President Donald Trump on her personal Facebook page. Area 2 trustee Celeste Winders posted on her campaign for trustee Facebook page about her resignation. "It is with sadness that I resign but I do so on my terms and no one else's," she wrote Thursday. "I believe in democracy and I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, an oath I take very seriously -- especially right now when it hangs in great peril. I believe that democracy is worth fighting for, worth hanging on to tightly and I refuse to have my First Amendment rights lessened or weakened. I resign upholding that oath to the Constitution." At issue is a post she made on Feb. 26 on her private Facebook page in response to proposed federal cuts to Medicaid. Winders said such cuts would affect her disabled child. "[Expletive] every single person who voted for this administration all the way to hell," she wrote. "May you burn the most fiery eternity and May everything you touch crumble and rot. This is why I will literally NEVER speak to some of my family members ever again. They are actually dead to me." On Feb. 28, Winders said someone saw her post and sent screenshots of it to "Sonoma County MAGA trolls" who had used it to target her position as trustee. As of Friday morning, Winders was still listed with a photo as a trustee on the district's website. The district also had not released a public statement about her resignation. In her Feb. 28 post, Winders said that now is the time to "stop being so damn polite." "That polite approach is going to land you in a dictatorship and it could land me hurt or worse," she wrote. "Because that is absolutely reality of where we are right now. This is not hyperbole people." Reactions to Winders' original post were both supportive and opposed. On March 3, a community group posted a link to a Zoom call about Winders, saying "Parents can share their two cents with SVUSD Trustee Winders... She wished eternal hell on Trump supporters." In the comments under the post, user Susan Hansen Chauncy said she was "NOT a Trump or MAGAt supporter," but that Winders' statement was not professional. "I believe strongly that we should all have the right to have our voices heard. But every teacher, principal and School Board member has a responsibility to act as a role model for our children. Social media is visible to everyone and as a parent, or grandparent, I believe that Ms. Winders must be held accountable for her words, no matter where they were posted," wrote Chauncy. Many commenters supported Winders, including those with disabled children. Some users kept their comments brief. "If there is a hell, Trump has a special place in it," wrote Charlie Estudillo. An Instagram post from Feb. 26 by the account civil_rights707 denounced Winders' comments. "I thought Democrats were supposed to be loving, and as elected officials, they're supposed to be open minded on differing viewpoints," said the poster in a stream. But apparently, if you have any kind of conservative values, or if you voted for Trump, Miss Winders wishes for your entire life to crumble and essentially death upon you and eternal hell. If you're a Christian like myself, that's extremely insulting."
