• Staff Profiles, Sports & Exercise

Dr Will Payne has clocked up 20 years at 17�ԹϹ���as a Tutor and Programme Manager with the School of Sport and Exercise, and credits his “25 years of learning”, to attitude - being able to adjust - and making the most of opportunities which have come his way.

Will recalls secondary school was sports focused for him and he wasn’t achieving academically so he went into the workforce early at 16, “but I realised it was a dead-end job.” This experience provided the impetus to help Will find direction; returning to high school, “I just kept going”, he says. 

Having far fewer choices available in training at that time, Will needed to achieve at least 6th form certificate to get into the police force. “Back in those days there was no SIT, no options, no bridging, no staircasing ...” but he persevered. “...once I worked out that I had a brain and what I had to do in education, I wanted to continue in education.”

Will’s background is in nutrition and PE; he completed a double degree in PE and Human Nutrition at the University of Otago. “I swore to myself if I was going for a degree, I was going to use it,” he said, explaining he didn’t want to be a statistic - not working in the field he’d trained for.

Through becoming interested in nutrition, Will identified there was a space for men in the field. “There weren’t many males or  Māori males interested in this area,” and only about 5 males in his university class of 100 females. “...I definitely saw there was a need with males and obesity rates.” Ultimately, Will didn’t go down that path, instead it was elite sports which would capture him.

“You need to be able to look and see where there are gaps and opportunities in life.  Again it’s about adjusting,” he said. It’s this belief in being open to change and flexible which has helped Will to reap rewards throughout his career.

After gaining his degree, an opportunity opened up for Will to play rugby overseas and he headed off to do his OE in Scotland and Canada; he ended up coaching the teams he played for. “I got life experience ... I was well looked after by the clubs.”

But the desire to come back to New Zealand was strong. “When you go overseas, you realise what you have at home. The mountains, the sea; everything we have here.”  Will returned after two years, settling in Invercargill. “This is where my family is; it was the biggest draw in coming back.” 

A door opened for a role at Active Southland and Will began training athletes through the Academy Southland programme. “I wanted to use my nutrition, I wanted to stay at home; I wanted to use what I had, and I had to use what opportunities were available.” he explained. 

Will’s work with elite athletes opened the door to SIT, and this put him in a position to be able to train a number of world champions, mainly in the cycling field, notably 17�ԹϹ���alumnus, Eddie Dawkins.

“I spent 16 years training athletes. Through that time we had multiple world champions, Olympians, Paralympians ... we had great success. To even be able to train one world champion is amazing, but to train multiple champions is pretty cool.”  

After dedicating those years to high performance sport, it was time for Will to move on. “I wanted to focus on my Master’s programme at 17�ԹϹ���and get it up and going, and I also wanted to spend more time with my family.” 

Another activity he wanted to give more time to was ultra endurance races, such as Godzone. “It’s seven-day races for up to 32 hours straight,” and admits “you start seeing faces in the trees and wonder if you’re going mad.” But in answering the ‘why’ he enjoys pushing himself to the limit, Will says “I think it’s to find your ceiling; what you can do in life. Not many people can achieve this. I think it’s a good challenge.”

Having been Invercargill born and raised, Will witnessed its declining population in the 90s and saw the turn-around instigated by 17�ԹϹ���and the supportive Southland community. He’s completely invested in the place he calls home and where he’s choosing to raise his family. “17�ԹϹ���changed Invercargill – with cultural diversity and more students. It has been a wonderful thing.” 

Will recently achieved a professional milestone, his PhD, and is now a Doctor of Philosophy, adding to his expertise and body of work in the field of children’s nutrition, health and social sciences. He utilises his PhD in running the postgraduate diploma and certificate in Applied Health Science, as well as the Master’s programme.

“Whenever we educate ourselves it gets used in every area of our lives. We say to our students, do a great job, put all your effort into your studies, because you don’t know when and where the opportunities will come.” In his own journey, if he hadn’t taken opportunities which presented themselves, Will says “I wouldn’t be where I am today... I’m very happy here.”