Mike Hesson has a phobia about heights and hates flying.
But he still managed to lift Otago cricket to the mountain top during his six years as the Otago coach.
Tributes were paid to Hesson (36) for the contribution he made to Otago cricket as the Volts coach at a farewell function at the University Oval Long room last night.
The record of his team on the playing field ranks him as the most successful Otago coach since Ray Hunt nearly 40 years ago.
The Hesson era will be recognised as one of the four great eras of Otago cricket since World War 2.
The others were the Lankford Smith period in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Ray Hunt era in the late 1960s and early 1970s and the Warren Lees era in the 1980s.
The chief executive of Otago Cricket, Ross Dykes, said that Hesson will be irreplaceable.
"He took Otago cricket back to the top and added six or seven players to the Black Caps," Dykes said.
"Before the Hesson era some Otago cricketers made the headlines for the wrong reasons.
"Mike turned a bunch of country guys into a very good and well behaved team," Dykes said.
"He had the ability to communicate the facts of any situation without offending anyone."
Hesson admitted being humbled by the tributes given him.
"I was very emotional when I drove here tonight," Hesson said. "It is the end of a 15-year involvement with Otago cricket. It has been a huge part of my life."
Black Cap Brendon McCullum said that Mike turned some misguided cricketers into great people.
"He had a big impact on our lives."
Otago captain Craig Cumming related the story about Hesson's fear of heights but said that this did not stop him from getting the Volts to play the best cricket they had for a long time.
Cumming said that Hesson's influence has kept him in the first-class game for at least four more years than he expected.
There were also taped messages from two members of the Otago cricket team who are overseas at the moment.
Neil Wagner, from South Africa, praised his people skills and Warren McSkimming sent his greetings from Scotland.
Hesson was given a photograph of the University Oval with a caricature of himself, from former Otago and New Zealand fast bowler Murray Webb, in the foreground.
