'I'm always on my toes'

She held various posts in the New Zealand Police Department for 24 years and was recently appointed as the manager of the New Zealand Women’s Cricket Team. Helen Mahon-Stroud’s job is to ensure that the spirited women wield the ‘willows’ with elan.

She makes sure that the women stay fit and energetic. She’s tough on the field but off it, she is everybody’s favourite.

Helen, who was in the City recently, manages to strike the perfect balance between being a tough manager and a friend to the team members. She confesses that she doesn’t know what it is like to rest. 

“I am always on my toes doing something. I never let my mind and body be idle,” she states. She says that she gets all her energy from the constant balance that she strikes between her professional and personal life.

Recalling her stint with the police department, Helen says that she held almost every post from manning traffic on the busiest streets to investigating and cracking the toughest of cases.

“The police department makes you tough. The job requires you to put in a
great amount of skill, discipline and commitment to whatever you lay your hands on and now, I’m just practising the same in my current job,” she says with
a smile. 

A mother of three teenagers, Helen says that she and her husband have not only been into sports all their lives but also encourage their children to play just about any sport.

“Each of my kids plays for a team at the school, college and state level. My husband and I believe that sports keep the body and mind active and this is something that we have inculcated in our kids as well,” she says. 

Helen adds that she never shies away from challenges and likes to confront any problem head-on.

“Everyday throws up a new challenge and I look at every task as a new lesson learnt,” she adds.