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Sports News
Daring to dream for Manukau kids
Thursday, 15 May 2008
By JOHN LAZO-RON
• Howick and Pakuranga Times
WELL-KNOWN sporting stars that come from and are proud to call the Manukau district their home were honoured at former Olympic champion John Walker’s ‘Find your Field of Dreams’ project launch on Monday.
Two of Manukau's favourite sons, David Tua and John Walker.
David Tua, Jonah Lomu, Valerie Vili, Ruben Wiki, Dillon Boucher, Barbara Kendall and Frank Bunce were amongst the names mentioned who have made a career for themselves in the sport they love, starting out in the suburbs of Manukau.
Manukau City Councillor Walker, who won gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 1500m race, unveiled his dream project that he has been working on for the past seven years.
The key objective is to enable all young people in the area to be involved in something that offers them a challenge, the chance to be active, and with positive encouragement and support, achieving a sporting dream.
All the athletes at the launch said they were humbled to be there, saying they are in total support of councillor Walker’s project.
“Yeah I’m pretty humbled obviously to be in some of the company that’s here, but I think what John’s done is just a fantastic project and I’m looking forward to helping out wherever I can and trying to get this project off the ground and going,” says Tall Black and Auckland Stars’ basketballer Dillon Boucher.
“It’s great. It’s been a wonderful evening. Watching pictures of people achieving on a world stage, it makes you feel really good knowing that you came from here,” says former All Black Frank Bunce.
“Oh mate, I’m really honoured you know, especially being in Manukau. Well I grew up in Otara so to give something back to the community is something I like to do and I think John has done a great thing here,” says Dannemora Warrior Ruben Wiki.
During the launch Cr Walker spoke about how getting a ‘tap on the shoulder’ when you’re young is vital to anyone’s upbringing.
And the athletes present on the night couldn’t agree more.
“Yeah I was lucky I got the tap on the shoulder and got the opportunity to turn my life around,” says Bunce.
“It was a policeman actually. I was in the Otahuhu District Court. This was during my young years when I was just silly. A policeman came over to me and said to me, “It’s about time you stop mucking around and concentrate on your rugby, because if you carry on along this path you’re not going to like where you end up. There’s so much out there.”
“It got me thinking that there’s a lot more out there than here where I was sitting in a cell waiting looking around at the people that were there with me. I was going ‘that’s not me’,” Bunce added.
Boucher says while his sporting heroes while growing up included the likes of Zinzan Brooke and Michael Jordan, it is his parents Dennis and Carol Boucher, that he gives praise to.
“I was fortunate enough my parents guided me in the right direction to be able to succeed, so because of them I’m where I’m at now,” says Boucher.
It’s no shock that Wiki gives all glory to his mother Tessa who he says kept him in line during his upbringing in Otara.
“My mum. She pushed me to go and play footy when I was young so I stayed with her. She kept me in line,” laughed Wiki.