Mark Liggins, Special Olympics Chief Executive Tim Shriver and Kevin Hodges at the Special Olympics Unity Cup.
It was six years ago that I simply picked up the phone and rang Special Olympics North Harbour and asked whether the Club needed any help. The woman I spoke with was Joan Fairhall, who kindly offered to meet me at my home. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Joan arrived at the house and in her usual dynamic way introduced herself, then sat on the floor in front of me and asked, “How can I help you?” I thought to myself, that’s a bit different. I think I can work for this woman.
Joan explained that Dr Geoff Dickson, Head of Research at the New Zealand Institute of Sport at AUT University had started football for the Club two years previously. I, too, worked for the University (in facilities management) but was based on a different campus to Geoff and we had never met. Geoff invited me to the next practice and that’s how it started.
Joan has since gone on to receive the Auckland Sports Administrator Award in 2008 and I received a North Harbour Sports Acknowledgement award for services to Special Olympics football in 2009.
Why did I volunteer? I do not have children who have intellectual disabilities but I had worked in community mental health previously and really enjoyed that. I like to see people reach their full potential, whatever that is. When I took over as coach in 2004 (after only a few weeks working together with Geoff), I didn’t even know the athletes’ names. Since then, I’ve not only learned all their names but much, much more. Volunteering for Special Olympics New Zealand has afforded me opportunities that otherwise would never have come my way – like coaching an athlete to go to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Sir Peter Blake once said, “If it’s not hard, it’s not worth doing”. I can relate to that. The players wanted match play. I decided to get cracking and organise something. At first it was hard. We were the only Special Olympics football team in the upper North Island. I begged companies such as Pak ‘n’ Save and The Warehouse to play us and they obliged.
I then learned that Ribbon Day events were available to play at and attendance at these were necessary to qualify for Regional and National Games. Invites came from Manawatu and Hawkes Bay. I approached the committee for funding to fly teams to these events. The committee blinked but the money was found and for the next three years, teams flew to Palmerston North and Napier for tournament play. These trips, hosting our own Ribbon Days and attending Waikato Regional Games enabled me to take two teams to the Special Olympics New Zealand National Summer Games in 2009. At my last Ribbon Day, 63 athletes attended and I remember a young boy doing “cart wheels” in front of his parents after scoring a goal. It brought a tear to my eye. It is these instances that make getting off the couch on a Sunday afternoon and going to football so worthwhile. As athlete numbers grew, so did community awareness and parental involvement. Simon Sharp joined me as a coach and Jacqui Adams helps out with organising Ribbon Days. More recently John Turrall has joined the team as another coach.
What started with six to seven athletes has grown to 20-plus with four teams participating at tournaments including a women’s team. There are now three clubs in the Upper North Island with football providing five more teams to play against. Without the support of others it would not be possible to cope with the increased numbers. Somehow, the good Lord keeps providing. Bit like the loaves and fishes story in the Bible.
In 2006, I co-coached a combined North Harbour/Manawatu team to the Australian Nationals on the Gold Coast. In July 2010, Mark Liggins and I travelled to Cape Town for the Special Olympics Unity Cup presented by Coca-Cola. Mark was at the first practice when Special Olympics North Harbour football started eight years ago. Interestingly, Mark declined the invitation to play at the Australian Nationals in 2006 out of a lack of confidence and a fear of other people becoming aware of his disability. He has come a long way since then. It was his attendance at the Nationals in Palmerston North which gave him the confidence to travel to South Africa.
In February 2009, Special Olympics New Zealand announced that it would be nominating athletes to attend the Special Olympics Unity Cup presented by Coca-Cola. The match would be an unprecedented football game in Cape Town played during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and would unite celebrities, football legends and Special Olympics athletes.
Mark Liggins, the same 36-year old centre forward who lacked the confidence to travel to Australia in 2006, was selected as one of only 16 Special Olympics athletes from around the world to play in Cape Town. Special Olympics New Zealand asked if I would consider attending the FIFA World Cup with him, as his coach and chaperone!
AUT University graciously gave me three days community leave to attend and off we went on a journey of a life time. Coca-Cola did the Special Olympics Unity Cup proud and booked the whole group into what I would describe as six-star accommodation. The trip to the local Special Olympics club was fascinating as was seeing the poor area of Cape Town. The coaching the players received on practice day was outstanding. The police escort (they stopped the traffic) to the practice ground made us all feel special. The attendance of President Zuma was also special - he was actually a pretty good player. The dinner the night of the practice at the Castle of Hope was outstanding as were the speeches. I remember Tim Striver saying, “Mr President, we may think that these players are here because of the celebrities . We are wrong. They are here because they want to play on the world stage in their own right”. How motivational is that? We are lucky to have Tim as Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics. The sincerity is very real.
The day of the match was exhilarating. Mark was nervous in the morning, checking and rechecking his boots, trying on his named and numbered jersey, travelling to the ground with a police escort and then playing in a stadium that holds 78,000 people. A little different to turning up to practice at Hato Petera College.
Steve Sumner, the Captain of the New Zealand All Whites team that played at the 1982 World Cup travelled with us and played in the match. He encouraged Mark and was really into it. He marvelled at the skill level of the players. “Disability! What disability?” he kept saying to me. The game was a two-all draw. It didn’t matter. The Special Olympics Unity Cup presented by Coca-Cola is now an established part of future FIFA World Cups.
Our match was played just befor the Germany versus Argentina game. That was a marvellous spectacle and much was learnt about tactics and the pace the game can be played. My players are in for a hard time.
I watched Attitude television’s Unity Cup programme when it was broadcast on a Sunday morning and cried. I cried because of my five years with Mark, and also having met the other players who participated in the actual match. It was an incredible experience, more so because of the experiences I have had over the last six years. The sacrifice is well worth it.
A friend said to me at church on Sunday, “Yes but now they’re back home to how it was before.” I replied, “NO! They have been to a WORLD CUP and NO one can take that away from them.”
Where do I go from here? Well at the World Cup, I met Terry Visscher, the Manager of Ben Haack the Australian athlete. We got talking about the Queensland Regional tournament held each year over one week on the Gold Coast and agreed that it would be great thing for one of my teams to attend. So it is back to the Committee who will blink and so it goes on…….