Nor'West News: July 03, 2018

NOR’WEST NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Tuesday July 3 2018 13
Papanui High student in
under-17 NZ squad
• By Jacob Page
PAPANUI HIGH student Sam
Richards may be a boy playing
men but he is turning heads in
the process.
The 15-year-old is the youngest
player in the Coastal Spirit
premier men’s reserves team but
is more than holding his own.
The defender has made the
wider training squad for the New
Zealand under-17 team, which
are attempting to qualify for the
under-17 World Cup in Peru in
October.
The news came as a shock to
the centre back who had been
left out of the talent centre camp
where players are normally
spotted and then picked for New
Zealand.
“I’d attended a couple (of
camps) and then found out I
wasn’t named for the previous
one so to get the call that I made
the squad was a little bit of a
surprise.”
Sam started playing as a defensive
midfielder but moved into
the centre back position more
than two years ago.
After making the step up from
15th grade football to the reserves
this season, he said he believed
playing men had improved his
game. “Initially I was quite nervous
about it, but after my first
game that feeling settled down,”
he said. The speed is quicker and
obviously the games are more
physical which took Sam some
time to get used to.
“Because everyone is stronger
than me, it’s really taught me how
to protect the ball better and use
my body to keep the ball away
from attackers,” he said.
“I pride myself on being calm
under pressure and I think that’s
a good quality to have in the
YOUTH:
Coastal
Spirit’s Sam
Richards
has made
the New
Zealand
under-17
wider
training
squad.
PHOTO:
VICKY
RICHARDS
position that I play.” Sam used
to play touch rugby but he gave
it away as his commitment to
football grew.
“I love the game and, for
me, I get as much joy out of
shutting down an attack or
stopping a goal as others do
scoring them.”
New Zealand under-17 training
camps will be held in Auckland
throughout the winter.
Williams pushes for
powerchair football
World Cup selection
• By Jacob Page
PAPANUI’S DIANE Williams
is eager to push her claim for
national selection at the first
New Zealand Powerchair
Football tournament in Taupo
this weekend.
Williams will have the benefit
of her community-funded
$23,000 powerchair, which is
specifically designed for her.
“I had all sorts of donations
from individuals – $1000 from
the Mike Pero Group
and $12,000 from (the
Mazda Foundation).”
She will represent
Canterbury at the
Taupo Sports Events
Centre from Saturday
to Monday.
Following the
tournament, a team
will be selected to
represent New Zealand at the
upcoming Australian national
championships in September.
It has also been announced
that Australia will be hosting
the 2021 FIPFA World Cup, allowing
the opportunity for New
Zealand to qualify through an
Asia Pacific Cup qualification
tournament next year.
Powerchair football is a competitive
team sport for people
SPORTS
with a physical disability.
The rules are similar to
outdoor football with a few
modifications. Players include
people with quadriplegia, neuromuscular
conditions, cerebral
palsy, head and spinal cord
injuries and other disabilities.
Williams (left) suffered
a stroke in 2010
which left her paralysed
down one side of her
body.
“Previously I’d played
indoor cricket and
indoor netball and loved
it so wheelchair football
was a good fit for me.”
While she has represented
New Zealand previously,
Williams said she was motivated
by the prospect of playing
in the World Cup.
“That’s the motivation for
now,” she said. “Playing the
game is freeing to me, and when
I play, I play hard.”
Williams says her chair,
which is specifically designed
for her body, means she can
play with comfort and freedom.