Levelling the playing field
Words Milly Nolan
Hamish Barton’s first-hand experience as a professional cricketer, followed by a career in high-performance sport across cricket, netball and canoe racing, sent him on a journey of self-discovery, in which he is now helping other people do the same through his coaching business.
“I played professional cricket for a number of years but in my mid-twenties I burned myself out through a lack of self-belief, confidence and imposter syndrome – all of which were pretty deep rooted,” says Hamish, a Matakana local. “In the end, I just stopped playing altogether because I wasn't enjoying it anymore.” Instead, Hamish went to Lincoln University where he gained a degree in Sports Management. With cricket still in the blood, he fell into coaching which took him to Argentina where he coached the Argentine National Cricket team for four years, and where he met his wife and mother of his two sons, Mai.
On returning to New Zealand, Hamish coached the New Zealand women's cricket team, White Ferns, and it was during this time that he started to become more curious about the mind and the impact it has on how people perform. “This fascination really launched me into a journey of self-discovery. I’ve done a lot of work on myself to better understand who I am and what I'm about,” says Hamish. With his newfound knowledge, Hamish moved out of sport and started working at Bayleys as a coaching and development manager, focussed on helping the business grow, whilst also mentoring and supporting the staff to be the best they could be each day. At the beginning of this year, he took the plunge to start his own coaching business under the umbrella of Next Evolution Performance, a company that is run by fellow local, Alex Davids. “I do one-on-one coaching, but fundamentally most of my work is with corporates, helping leaders and teams to sustain high performance without the burnout,” says Hamish. “I do a lot of work around energy management, structuring their day, understanding mindset, understanding the importance of sleep, breathwork and nutrition – basically all the different elements that work towards helping people to perform at a high level consistently every day.”
Locally, Hamish has been offering opportunities to support men’s health – running weekly Koha meditation sessions for men, and also a men’s yoga stretch class at Bali Gardens. “The meditation sessions and workshops I run help men delve deep into some of the stuff that might be going on for them,” says Hamish. “It can be hard for men to stop, sit still, be silent and do some self-inquiry for half an hour, but it’s really the only way to grow. I love that now that I have done my yoga teacher’s training, I can share with other men the positive impact that yoga and meditation has had on me.
“My journey of self-discovery has made me a much happier person, I’m way more present and less reactive,” says Hamish. “I'm less judgmental with how I am with myself, and how I am with others. I’ve really peeled back the layers so I can be the authentic me without worrying what others think. The energy I want to bring into each day is just to be present, be where my feet are; connecting with my breath during the day, and feel the joy in everything that I'm doing. Even when things aren't going well, the simple joy of being alive and being able to sense and feel that emotion is a game changer.”
hbarton@NePerform.com
021 450 406