Gerard Stokes facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Full name | Gerard James Stokes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1955 Aligarh India |
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| Died | (aged 65) Christchurch, New Zealand |
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Playing information
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Coaching information
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Gerard James Stokes (born 1955 – died 8 December 2020) was a famous New Zealand rugby league player and coach. He played rugby league in the 1970s and 1980s. Later, he became a coach from the 1980s into the 2010s. Gerard Stokes even represented his home country, New Zealand, as a player. He also coached the national team of Serbia. Gerard was the father of Ben Stokes, a well-known international cricketer for England.
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Playing Rugby League
Gerard Stokes started playing rugby league when he was young. He loved the sport so much that he would sometimes sneak out of his boarding school to play for Canterbury.
In 1971, he was chosen as a Schoolboy Kiwi, which is a big honor for young players in New Zealand. Later, in 1982, he got to play for the New Zealand national team. He played in four special matches during their tour of Australia. He also played professionally for Workington Town in England during the 1982-1983 season.
Coaching Rugby League Teams
After his playing days, Gerard Stokes became a successful coach.
Coaching in New Zealand
In 1994, he became the coach of a new team called the Canterbury Country Cardinals in the Lion Red Cup. His team did very well in their first year, making it to the finals in 1994.
He later became the head coach for the Canterbury Rugby League representative team in 1996. In 2000, he led the Canterbury Bulls to win the very first Bartercard Cup grand final. Because of this success, he was named New Zealand coach of the year for that season.
In 2001, he became an Assistant Coach for the New Zealand national team. He also helped choose the players for the team. In 2003, he was in charge of the New Zealand 'A' team when they toured Great Britain.
In 2002, Stokes moved to coach the Wellington Franchise team in the Bartercard Cup.
Coaching in England and Serbia
After his tour with the New Zealand 'A' team, Gerard Stokes had a chance to coach his old club, Workington Town, in England. The team was having a tough time, but Stokes worked hard to rebuild the squad.
In 2008, he took on the coaching job for Whitehaven, another English team. Around the same time, in late 2008, he also traveled to Serbia. He helped the Serbian national team get ready for their international games. This connection even led to a young Serbian player joining his Whitehaven team. He left Whitehaven in 2010 after a difficult season where the team was moved down to a lower league.
Life After Coaching
In 2013, Gerard and his wife, Deb, moved back to Christchurch, New Zealand. He started working with young people who had gotten into trouble. He also helped with the rebuilding efforts in Christchurch after the big earthquake that happened there.
Family Life
Gerard Stokes had two children from his first marriage. With his second wife, Deb, he had a son named Ben Stokes, who grew up to be a famous international cricket player for England.
Gerard Stokes passed away at his home in Christchurch on 8 December 2020, at the age of 65.
