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Lyn Gunson
Personal information
Full name Lyn Gunson (née Parker)
Born (1953-12-31) 31 December 1953 (age 70)
Northland, New Zealand
Height 5 ft 7.25 in (1.71 m)
University University of Otago
University of Waikato
University of Bath
Netball career
Playing position(s): WD, C, WA, GD
Years National team(s) Caps
1974–1985 New Zealand 70
Coaching career
Years Team(s)
1989–1993 New Zealand
1998 Bay of Plenty Magic
1999–2000 Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic
1999–2008 Team Bath
2002–2003 England
Medal record
Representing  New Zealand
World Netball Championships
Gold medal – first place 1979 Port of Spain Team
Silver medal – second place 1983 Singapore Team
Bronze medal – third place 1975 Auckland Team
World Games
Gold medal – first place 1985 London Team

Lyn Gunson (born 31 December 1953), also known as Lyn Parker, is a former New Zealand netball international and a former head coach of both the New Zealand and England national netball teams. She captained New Zealand when they won the 1985 World Games title and coached them when they retained the same title in 1989. In 1989 she was named New Zealand Coach of the Year. Between 1999 and 2008 Gunson also served as head coach and/or director of netball for Team Bath, guiding them to Netball Superleague titles in 2005–06 and 2006–07.

Early life and education

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Gunson is originally from Northland, New Zealand. In 1974 she graduated from the University of Otago with a Diploma in Physical Education. She also gained a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Waikato. Between 1995 and 1999 she also worked as a lecturer at Waikato. She has also worked as a secondary teacher and as director of the Waikato Institute for Leisure and Sport.[1][2]

Playing career

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New Zealand

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Between 1974 and 1985 Gunson made 70 senior appearances for New Zealand. She made her senior debut on 15 October 1974 against Singapore. She first captained New Zealand in 1974 during a tour of England while still aged 21. She became the permanent captain in 1978 at the age of 24. She subsequently captained New Zealand at the 1979 World Netball Championships, when New Zealand shared the title with Australia and Trinidad and Tobago, and at the 1983 World Netball Championships when New Zealand finished as runners-up to Australia. She continued to captain New Zealand until she retired as a player. She made her final appearance for New Zealand in the 1985 World Games final as New Zealand defeated Australia 39–37 to win the inaugural title. Her teammates while playing for New Zealand included, among others, Rita Fatialofa, Margaret Forsyth, Yvonne Willering and Waimarama Taumaunu.[3][4][5]

Tournaments Place
1975 World Netball Championships[6] 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
1979 World Netball Championships[4] 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1983 World Netball Championships[5] 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1985 World Games[7] 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Coaching career

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New Zealand

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Between 1989 and 1993 Gunson served as head coach of New Zealand. During her three years as head coach she guided New Zealand to 45 wins in 49 tests. In her debut year as coach she guided New Zealand to eight wins out of eight. This included New Zealand winning the 1989 World Games title and defeating Australia 3–0 in a home series of matches. She was subsequently named New Zealand Coach of the Year for 1989 while the New Zealand national netball team where named Team of the Year. She also served as head coach of New Zealand at the 1991 World Netball Championships. Her last tournament as head coach was the 1993 World Games.[1][8][9][10][11]

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

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Between 1999 and 2000 Gunson coached Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in New Zealand's Coco-Cola Cup.[12][13]

Team Bath

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Between 1999 and 2008 Gunson served as head coach and/or director of netball for Team Bath. She initially arrived at the University of Bath to study for a doctorate. During the Super Cup era, she guided Team Bath to the 2004 title. As director of netball she subsequently oversaw Team Bath as they won the inaugural Netball Superleague title in 2005–06 and then retain it in 2006–07. During her time with Team Bath she helped mentor the next generation of English netball coaches, including Tamsin Greenway and Jess Thirlby. In 2015 Gunson was inducted into the University of Bath/Team Bath Hall of Fame for Sport. In 2019 Team Bath renamed the trophy awarded to the winners of their pre-season tournament after Gunson.[14][15][16][17] Saracens Mavericks subsequently won the inaugural Lyn Gunson Trophy.[18][19]

England

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Between 2002 and 2003 Gunson served as head coach of England. She had previously served as an assistant coach. She was the England head coach at both the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 2003 World Netball Championships.[16][17][20][21][22][23]

Tournaments Team Place
1989 World Games[9]  New Zealand 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1991 World Netball Championships[10]  New Zealand 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1993 World Games[11]  New Zealand 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2002 Commonwealth Games[17][22]  England 4th
2003 World Netball Championships[23]  England 4th

Later years

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In 2008 Gunson returned to New Zealand where she remained involved with netball. Between 2008 and 2011 she served as director of netball for Netball North Harbour. She later worked as a Coaching Consultant at the New Zealand Academy of Sport North Island.[2][24][25]

Honours

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Player

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New Zealand

Head coach

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New Zealand
Individual
Team Bath

References

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  1. ^ a b School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences. "Lyn Gunson, Wall of fame 2008". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b "New Zealand Academy of Sport North Island Announcement". www.netballnz.co.nz. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Lyn Gunson". www.silverferns.co.nz. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Women Netball V World Championship 1979 Port of Spain". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Women Netball VI World Championship 1983 Singapore". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Women Netball IV World Championship 1975 Auckland". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Women Netball World Games 1985 London". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Coaches – Lyn Gunson". www.silverferns.co.nz. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Women Netball World Games 1989 Karlsruhe". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Women Netball VIII World Championship 1991 Sydney". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Women Netball World Games 1993 The Hague". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Netball: Tall timber boost for Cometz side". www.nzherald.co.nz. 30 June 2000. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Netball: Magic at crossroads". www.odt.co.nz. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Lyn Gunson". www.teambath.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Battle of the Sexes in Super Cup Build-Up". www.sportfocus.com. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  16. ^ a b "English netball has Australian and New Zealand coaches to thank for recovery". www.theguardian.com. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  17. ^ a b c "BiG Showdown: 'Netball's Wenger' Gunson honoured at Bath". www.bbc.co.uk. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Hosts Team Bath Netball pipped by Saracens Mavericks in exciting conclusion to The BiG Showdown weekend". www.teambath.com. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  19. ^ "BiG Showdown: Saracens Mavericks beat Team Bath in final". www.bbc.co.uk. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Netball: Kiwi Lyn Gunson takes over as England coach". www.nzherald.co.nz. 29 March 2002. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  21. ^ "Netball: England ready for world domination". www.nzherald.co.nz. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  22. ^ a b "England net win over Sri Lanka". thecgf.com. 27 July 2002. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  23. ^ a b "Women Netball XI World Championship 2003". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  24. ^ "Netball: Gunson's mission to improve standards". www.nzherald.co.nz. 24 May 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Police nab former uni man for forgery". www.stuff.co.nz. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
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