A groundbreaking programme aimed at nurturing the remarkable talents of South Auckland tamariki while equipping them with basic motor and essential life skills and confidence is being piloted at Manurewa Squash Club.
Club Coach Brian Barnett, a former national squash representative and international coach, wrote the programme, which has been reviewed by Scott Duncan, Professor of Population Health in the School of Sport and Recreation at AUT University.
Local schools will be invited to bring students to the club to experience the programme as part of the curriculum, and it will also be part of an after-school programme offered at the club.
The programme follows on from the Street Racket initiative that Brian introduced to local schools after he returned to New Zealand in 2019.
“Street Racket is a simple bat and ball game teaching basic motor skills – you draw the courts on a hard flat surface, and anyone can play. It’s a precursor to all racket sports.”
Brian has introduced 3000 children from 12 South Auckland schools to Street Racket. At the end of the 10-week programme, he invited some of the schools to bring their students to the squash club to have a go at squash and try out a range of other activities.
It was such a success that he was inspired to develop the new programme, Rethinking Racket Sport, to encourage children to be more active, give them opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have, and maximise the use of the squash club facilities during times when members are not using them.
Brian’s experience coaching overseas has demonstrated that if New Zealand is going to develop its sporting talent, it needs to start when the children are young.
“We have some really gifted kids in South Auckland. Some who have never played before pick up a racket and are naturals.”
To get the programme up and running, Brian worked with the Manurewa Squash Club to completely refurbish its 60-year-old building, painting, installing a new ceiling, recarpeting, adding a dance floor, and restoring the main court.
“If you want kids to be physically active and involved, you need to create a place where they want to go.”
Wiri Licensing Trust supported the club’s applications to Trillian for funding exceeding $300,000 to cover the cost of the upgrades and a part-time salary to allow Brian to design the new programme. The support was provided over 14 months and also covered the cost of a new online booking system that controls facility and court access, freeing up volunteer time and maximising the club’s use.
General Manager Kim Green says the Trust Board was delighted to get behind a project that supports the development of local children and improves a sporting facility so that it can be better utilised by the community.
For Brian, the programme is an opportunity to address some of the inequities he sees in South Auckland. “There are so many kids with prodigious talent and unbelievable potential and they just don’t get a chance.”
In addition to Street Racket, mini squash, and squash, the initiative will allow students to try basketball, futsal, indoor hockey and badminton. It will also offer movement, fitness, dance, drumming and even the chance to learn how to DJ. Brian also hopes to include a health education component and is currently negotiating a partnership with the Life Education Trust.
Another positive benefit is that the programme, which will begin next year, will generate income for the squash club. Brian is developing a sponsorship model that will ask local businesses to cover the costs for schools that can’t afford to participate.
“We can also roll out the programme to other areas in South Auckland and other regions,” he says.
Brian is grateful to have the support of Wiri Licensing Trust.
“We couldn’t ask for more. Sport in New Zealand wouldn’t survive without funders like the Trust and we can’t thank them enough.”
His next project is to spearhead a new racket sports centre, which would be built on the land owned by Manurewa Squash Club.
“South Auckland lacks modern racket ball facilities,” Brian says.
His dream would be a centre with seven or eight squash courts, a viewing gallery, and facilities for badminton, pickleball, and table tennis.
“We need to give the community something they can be proud of.”
Wiri Licensing Trust wants to connect with local community groups and organisations that are doing great work in our hood to understand how we can better support you – email us at info@wiritrust.org.nz.
