Raising youngster not slowing down McIlroys

Shannon McIlroy holds son Iziyah  with wife Amy McIlroy during a break in play at the national...
Shannon McIlroy holds son Iziyah with wife Amy McIlroy during a break in play at the national championships. Photo: Wayne Parsons
It has been a mixture of family, business and bowls for Nelson couple Amy and Shannon McIlroy in the lead-up to this year’s national championships in Dunedin.

For 2016 world singles champion Shannon, there is  the lure of a third Commonwealth Games, while for Amy the championships represent a chance to reunite in pairs and fours competition with long-time friend Selina Goddard (Auckland).

Shannon, who celebrates his 31st birthday today,  said top-flight bowls brought out the best in him.

After winning the national singles title in 2016, he backed it up with the world title months later in Christchurch, where he also won bronze in the pairs with Dunedin’s Mike Kernaghan. Three years earlier, in Adelaide, his medal colour in the world singles was bronze.

"For me it’s just about putting myself in the mix when it comes to the crunch time, and keeping myself out there among all the other top players in the country and playing consistently," he said.

If form is anything  to go by, he could well be joined in the Games team by wife Amy (nee Brenton), who despite taking a break from the game to give birth to the couple’s first child, Iziyah (Izi), has returned to competition showing she has not lost anything by way of ability and confidence.

Both are featuring in the knockout stages on greens around Dunedin, after each progressed through the qualifying stages unscathed. Amy McIlroy renewed her association with Commonwealth Games team-mate Goddard in pairs and fours competition. The two, along with Mandy Boyd and Gemma Watts, combined to win the women’s national fours title when the championships were last held in Dunedin in 2014.

"This year has been all about coming back and playing with Selina because I feel I let her down last year because I was pregnant with Izi," she said reflecting on results the two achieved on the national and international stage over the past decade.

McIlroy (26) and Goddard (23) have played in numerous New Zealand teams and in composite teams at national events, particularly in fours, in which the two, along with Mandy Boyd and Val Smith, claimed  bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Amy first met  pairs and fours team-mate Goddard at intercollegiate competition while attending Nayland College and the two have gelled in team competition ever since.

A niece of Wayne Hodgson, who opened the batting for Central Districts with former New Zealand representative Jock Edwards, McIlroy said it was his persistence that got her into bowls.

She admitted to not liking it at first but when Hodgson explained that it was a game she could play for the school and that there were trips away  she was "hooked". And has never looked back.

Originally from Gisborne, Shannon McIlroy followed father Boon into bowls as a 5-year-old, and first represented New Zealand in transtasman competition at 14 as a member of the under-18 team. His selection became a turning point in his life.

"I discovered that’s what I wanted to do and started following it," he said.

"Yeah, I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been given opportunities. But I’ve had to put in a few hard yards as well over the years."

McIlroy added that despite continuing selection he still had to play and perform.

"I was always a quiet achiever at a young age. As cheeky as I was and and as mischievous as I was, I still had a real competitive edge about myself.

"I was always wanting to win Whether I had to win ugly or win nice it didn’t really matter. I just had a determination that I wanted to win. I think that kind of mindset kind of helped me out when I was a lot younger."

As for achievements, Shannon rates his 2016 world championship singles win as the most memorable.

"You can’t get any better than that. For me it’s probably the best one to win.

"Lots of people have tried. Even some of the greatest players who have ever played have never won one of them. I was pretty proud."

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