Teen dedicated to honing his skills and helping train other volleyball players.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Tērā tētehi toa ko Te Ratu Baker me tona moemoeā kia whakawhiwhia e ia he karahipi taupangapanga e tūwhera ai te huarahi whānui ki tāwāhi ki reira ia kura ai.
Engari anō te pepeha e kī nei, mā te kaha o te ringaringa me te heke o te toihau e tutuki ai ngā hiahia o te ngakau. Nā reira kua tahuri tēnei toa, ki te mahi me te ako hoki i tana tīma. He kotahi tekau mā rima te rahi o Te Ratu kai te kura o Raukura ia e kura ana.
Koia tētehi o ngā toa i tipakongia ki a tu ki te rōpū Aotearoa Māori Poirewa mō te tau nei. Ko te rōpū whakataetae raro iho i te kotahi tekau mā whitu te rahi.Nō te Āpereira ko pahemo rātau wānanga ai,hai ngā rā whakatā ā te Hūrae rātau wānanga anō ai.Ko te take, ko te whakataetae nui ka tū ki te whenua o Thailand ā te Akuwhata.
Ko Federation of International Volleyball -FIVB whare whakapakari te taitara o te whakataetae. Ko te whare motuhake tēnei i te takiwā o Āhia me Te Moananui a Kiwa. Nōnā e tau kotahi tekau ana i te kura ka hau atu a Te Ratu ki tēnei kēmū.
“Nā ōku hoa ahau i tō mai ki tēnei hākinakina, ka iti e pūrei ana, ka mātau noa taku puku koia tēnei hei hākinakina tika māku.E taea ai hoki te kī ko te taupangapanga te uho o tōna ao.”
Ko taua āhua anō hoki, ko te timatatanga, he porohīanga noa, nā wai, ka āhua wera te puku, kātahi ka puta te wairua whakataetae, ā, nā wai rā e whakataetae hemo noa atu te tangata.
“Ko te pae tawhito kia whiwhi karahipi ahau, he karahipi taupangapanga e puta ai ahau ki whenua kē ako ai. Ko aku tino karaehe ko te pūtaiao me te mahi whika, kai konei pea te huarahi ki te pae mārama”.
He rōpū poirewa ki Raukura.
I whānau a Te Ratu i Tamaki Makaurau engari i poipoia i Turanga nui a Kiwa nō Te Aitanga a Hauiti nō Ngāti Ira , Ngāti Raukawa, NgaPuhi, Tainui me tētehi karanga iti nōna ki a Ngāti Rangiwewehi ōna kānoi.Ko Hinemaurea ki Mangatuna ki roto o Uawa tōna marae, wheoi anō ko ōna panga ki ngā marae o te Tai Rāwhiti he huhua noa atu.
He ahakoa kai Te Kura o Raukura ia, kai Te Kura o Te Whakarewarewa tōna taina Tira. Ko tōna matua wahine Ann-Jolena he toa pūrei poiuka mō te rōpū kotahi tekau mā ono te rahi iti iho mā Aotearoa.
Kai te mahi hoki a Te Ratu e ngawari ake ai tana nama kawe i a ia ki Thailand, kai Motions e whakaheke wera ana.Kai te tautokongia a Te Ratu e Aotearoa Māori Poirewa i tana haerenga whakahirahira nei nā rātau te kōrero iti nei: ‘Nā to kaha ū ki te kaupapa, he tangata whakaū ki te huarahi o te mahi, ka whakarewangia e mātau te mana o te hākinakina taupangapanga Māori , ā, ka toro atu hoki te ringa atawhai ki a koe kia tū rangatira ai koe, ka nui hoki te whakahīhī o te whatumanawa kua tu nei koe hai poupou i te rōpū whakataetae mō te tau nei’.
Engari mō te pae tata nei kai te whare pakari a Te Ratu e whakangungu ana ā tinana nei a Reo Māori hoki nei.
Kia toa koe e te toa.— Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori.
— Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia.
English Translation
Te Ratu Baker dreams of winning a volleyball scholarship that will take him overseas for tertiary education.
But he knows the dream will come to nothing without hard work.
So, the 15-year-old Raukura student has a part-time job and mentors and helps train teams.
He was chosen for the Aotearoa Māori Poirewa national U17 boys’ team for 2023.
The team had a wānanga in the April holidays and meet again in the July holidays.
That is to prepare for their tour to Bangkok, Thailand in August.
There the team will be training and competing at the prestigious Federation of International Volleyball - FIVB Development Centre which is the only one of its kind in Asia/Oceania. Te Ratu was introduced to volleyball around Year 10 at Boys High and loved it.
“I had friends who mainly played the sport, and I found I was good at the sport and my participation grew from there.”
It’s almost as if volleyball has taken over Te Ratu’s life.
“Initially it was just playing at school, which has increased to daily training both with teams, and individually at school, during weekends and morning trainings.
“Three times a week I have been helping out with the younger teams at school and modeling mentorship and leadership.
“Ideally, I am wanting to get a volleyball scholarship overseas. At this stage I am demonstrating strong attributes for science and math, wanting to involve something with these subjects.”
Te Ratu, who was born in Auckland and raised in Gisborne, has whakapapa to Te Aitanga a Hauiti (East Coast) Ngati Ira (East Coast), Ngati Raukawa (distant links to Ngati Rangiwewehi via Otaki), Nga Puhi, and Tainui.
Te Ratu Baker is dedicated to honing his skills and helping train other volleyball players. Photo / Supplied
Hinemaurea Marae ki Mangatuna, Uawa is his main marae, however he has hononga to several others on the East Coast.
While Te Ratu attends Raukura his younger sister, Tira, goes to Te Kura o Te Whakarewarewa.
Their mother Ann-Jolena represented New Zealand in the Under 16 girls’ softball team in 2001-2002.
To fund his trip to Thailand Te Ratu has a part-time job at Motions and helps with whanau fundraising efforts. His initial goal is to fund videography at the tournament to help demonstrate his skills in his scholarship hunt.
Te Ratu has the full support of Aotearoa Māori Poirewa who wrote:
“With your experience and great attitude, we aim to raise the profile of Māori volleyball and we actively seek to work with you in furthering your game and leadership capacity.
“We endorse your selection as a national representative for 2023.”
