Staff Profiles

Joe Sprangers – Chief Executive Officer  

After initially accepting the role of Chief Executive Officer for a one year fixed term, Joe is now employed full-time in the role.  He has a back ground of 8 years New Zealand Army service, and 18 year’s service in the New Zealand Police,  followed by an ongoing career in sports management specialising in working with not for profit  organisations. Joe also spent several years on the Board of Touch NZ where his portfolios were risk management and deputy chair of the Board. 

In a voluntary capacity Joe is the current President of the Te Awamutu Sports Club where he also runs a Touch Module.  Joe has coached representative Touch for the Waikato Provincial Association from 2001 – 2009, as well as having coached rugby for a number of years.  

He is married with two adult children. 

George Albert - Jahnke – Total Touch Operations Manager

 Touch NZ employee - 4 years, WTM Manager, National Coaching Officer, Senior Development Officer, and Total Touch Officer. He helped develop, build, manage Total Touch's 20 competitions to cater for 9000 players a season. 

George is an avid Touch participant with elite status in the Touch Blacks. Other achievments include:  NZ Rep since 1993 to 2008 - Boys, Open Mixed, 30's Mixed, World Titles - 1999 Open Mixed World Champ, 2007 30s Mixed World Champ, Coached provincial, New Zealand, and international teams e.g. Wellington, NZ U21 Mixed and USA, Level 2 Coach, Level 2 Referee.

David Mays - TouchNZ/Bay Trust Coach Force Officer

Born in Doncaster, England, David played rugby union for over 20 years, playing provincial levels in all age grades. From the late 1990s, David began coaching and embarked on coach education programs. Over the last decade he has coached seven national teams in the 7’s and XV’s variants of the game, plus qualified as a fully certified Level 4 coach. His coach education background covers four different continents, where he is a qualified coach educator for three national bodies including the IRB

In his spare time, loves to spend time with his family Jenny and 2 children Charlie and Isobella and of course watching good footy games!

Julie Monaghan – Marketing Director

Before accepting this role Julie was in her second year on the board of TNZ. Prior to that for 3 years she was a business and marketing consultant after leaving a 9 year career as the Marketing Director at Microsoft.  

Julie has a passion for sport and seeing children and adults involved in healthy activity.  She was previously an aerobics instructor with Les Mills & Don Olivers and is still an active player in Netball.  She met her husband playing Touch and now has two sons who also share a love for sport. 

Her main focus in this role is to develop products that will assist Touch NZ to become financially self sustaining, while raising the profile of the sport nationally and in every community. 

Sarah Dance - Marketing and Communications

Sarah's background - Born in Bahrain, Parents English/ Irish moved to New Zealand from Saudi Arabia when she was 11 and calls NZ home. Based is Auckland, studied at Massey University - Bachelor of Sports Business Management, Marketing and Events Management. Sarah joins us from Sport Auckland and has had exposure to many areas of sport administration. Also has coached top level water polo for intermediate/ college kids for 9 years. 

Her main focus is to promote TNZ, Total Touch and Turbo Touch throughout New Zealand.

Pam Hyde – National Junior Development Manager

Pam has been with TNZ for over 5 years, during this time she has held the positions of referee development manager, regional manager, membership manager and currently National Junior Development manager. Pam has been involved as a NZ team manager in a number of youth campaign and currently tour managers both the Youth and Touch Black teams.

Pam has a bachelor of social sciences and diploma in rehabilitation.

Peter Walters – National Coaching & Elite Development Manager 

Peter has been employed with TNZ for the last six years. He is based at the TNZ office at Waitakere stadium in Auckland.  

His role with TNZ is varied and includes management of the TNZ coaching programmes, coaching and elite player development, TNZ Selectors and also collaboration work with SPARC and DrugfreeSportNZ. 

Peter, who is known in the sport worldwide as “Mr Touch” started his involvement in 1980 in Auckland at the Marist rugby club, one of the first competitions that introduced touch into New Zealand. As a player he quickly stamped his mark on the game and made the Auckland and New Zealand teams in 1986 at the first Touch Nationals in Rotorua. He has since played and coached at every Touch Nationals in NZ history. He has represented NZ at all six Touch World Cups from the first in 1988 to the most recent in South Africa in 2007. He has also played and coached NZ teams to two world cup wins in 1999 and 2007. 

Peter grew up in Ahipara in the far north and shifted to Auckland in 1979 and has lived there ever since.

In his spare time he enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading and physical pursuits.