Thursday August 24th was a day to remember for a many Middleton Grange pupils and staff as two New Zealand Sporting Greats made appearances on campus.

The morning started off with All Blacks Great – Richie McCaw visiting with Y12 pupil Luke Russell, who will be competing alongside Richie in an adventure race later this year. Richie stepped out of his car at 8.30am in front of the main admin block and the stir that caused was not surprising. Pupils and staff alike were able to meet and greet Richie and there were selfies galore over the next 30 minutes before pupils were ushered to class and Richie’s interview with Luke could begin. You can watch Luke’s interview with Richie.  

Later in the afternoon New Zealand’s favourite NBA player, Steven Adams, stopped by for a private workout in our school gym. Steven and his teammate Andre Roberson from the Oklahoma City Thunder were put through their paces by the Thunder Coaching staff for an hour and half and while the session was mostly closed, a few pupils and staff managed to get a moment or two with the big man from Rotorua. The evening was capped off with a coaching clinic by Billy Donovon, Head Coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who is regarded as one of the best coaches in the world. Over 150 community coaches from around the area were able to attend this clinic at our gymnasium for free.