My Account
Sue Turner may not actually live at Silverdale Rugby Club, but she admits it often seems that way. The club has been her “second home” since she became Club Manager almost 12 years ago but she has been connected with it since her son Jamie began playing there as a five year old, around 20 years ago. The job has brought her closer to her favourite sport, but, she told Terry Moore, it also brought a shy, hearing-impaired person out of her shell.
I can remember sitting in a pram, I must have been about three or four years old, and watching my father play rugby in Avondale. I later followed games that my brother played in when he was in his college’s 1st XV. My ex-husband and friend, John Turner, is a coach here at Silverdale Rugby Club. I met him when he was a player at Suburbs – he was 19 and I was only 16. We got married and had two boys and moved from Mt Roskill South to the Hibiscus Coast. We used to come to the area every weekend anyway, because my father lived at Hatfields Beach and the boys would go out fishing. One of the first things we did when we moved into Orewa 20 years ago was join the local rugby club. My oldest boy, Jamie, who was five, was a keen player and pretty soon I volunteered to join the Junior Committee – funnily enough, my first role was “fair play officer” which wasn’t really me at all as I’m pretty competitive! I was on the committee until 2001, eventually becoming Junior Club Captain. At the end of 2001 they asked me to be Club Manager. In my early days as Club Manager I had a very proactive, dynamic board, who were my mentors; they guided and believed in me and ‘held my hand’ through the early days. I was painfully shy and working with them definitely brought me out of myself.
One reason for my shyness was that I have a 47 percent hearing loss in both ears and am totally dependent on two hearing aids. I was born deaf with the inner ear nerves not being fully formed hence I cannot hear high-pitched tones. It can be frustrating at times but providing people face me, I can then use my skill of lip reading, which I learnt from a very early age. Technology has come a long way from the days when I had to wear an aid with a cord that used to dangle from my ear to my chest – I had to wear a singlet holding the device, which was as big as a cigarette pack. I also have a speech impediment, but with the understanding and the belief in me from the senior management of the club I soon found my comfort zone – although they are yet to get me up on stage!
The board believed in me because they could see my passion was rugby and that I was dedicated and conscientious. I wanted to see the kids enjoy playing rugby – that’s the priority, not the coaches’ egos or the parents’ enthusiasm to see their kids winning. The kids are looking for fun and friendship and that’s what keeps them playing the game. I love the competitiveness of rugby, and with my brother and ex-husband teaching me the rules over the years, you develop a great understanding of the game. These days my sons pull me up on technicalities so I’m always learning. Most of our discussions around the table are based on rugby. Both my sons play for the club and this is the second season that they’ve been in the Premier team; Zane is a hooker and Jamie is a loose forward. They are active, fit and passionate about rugby.
Having belonged to the club since they were juniors, they have made some great mates. The Prems coach this year, Paul Mant, is encouraging the players to give back to the club in whatever ways they can – it gives a sense of ownership. Recently we painted numerals on the field, to assist spectators, using stencils, and the boys from the Prems did all the work. Jamie is coaching junior players as well as playing – they’re learning that being part of a club like this is about give as well as take. Although I remember one of our boys having a soft toy rugby ball in his bassinet, we never pushed them into playing rugby and would have supported them whatever sport they pursued. We used to play rugby in the backyard as a family, until the boys got too strong in their tackling, so we switched to Touch so I could join in. As for playing rugby myself – it wasn’t done in my day, but maybe I’d be brave enough if I was in my twenties now.
My job is really to ensure the overall smooth running of the club. Pre-season is very busy and there’s always a change over of team managers – a whole lot of new people to get to know and work with. I have got great staff, including Junior Rugby administrator Janine Rutter and Isy Stevenson who looks after the catering and bar, netball and venue hire, and we are supported by a Junior Committee and board that give up a lot of time in their roles.
In the height of the season, I’d be at the ground six days a week but one of those is purely social. That’s probably why some people think I’m married to the club. When I watch rugby, I am looking mainly at the forwards, whereas most people focus on the try scorers. I’m interested in how the ball is turned over, who did the work, it is not always about the try. I appreciate the skills that the backs have too, but one of the great things about rugby is that there is a spot for everybody regardless of their size, speed and strength. My boys have not had any major injuries, so they’ve been lucky. Parents may think about that – I certainly do if the front row collapses and my son’s in there, but there’s a lot more awareness among the controllers of the game now and the players realise that safety is paramount. I like to keep fit and many years ago was a keen runner. I swim and play a little bit of netball but only in a social team because in the winter I want to watch my boys play. I am also a bit of a card shark at Stop the Bus!
I recall one of the board of directors when I started as Club Manager saying to me that I had to stay “at least a year or two”, because there had been a few others that stayed less than a year up to that point. I have seen a lot of people come and go over the years and like to offer my experience to guide them, though you often have to let people make their own mistakes.
When I first came to the club we only had 220 juniors and now have 550 so I’ve seen massive growth. We have hosted some big events at the club such as the Jubilee, Rugby World Cup teams and the Roller Mills last year. Silverdale has been very fortunate to get these, partly because of the location – straight off the motorway and near the beach. Right now we are having a feasibility study done of the club’s needs and wants and a lot will depend on the results of that regarding how we go forward from here. I always think the deck we’ve got overlooking the fields was a big thing for the club who fundraised to build it, and it is so appreciated and well used, so hopefully we will make similarly good decisions so that our young ones will benefit.
I question whether all the growth in the area is positive or not, noticing the effects such as way more traffic. However, on the upside, more residential development does mean more rugby players.
[pullquote] “I wanted to see the kids enjoy their rugby – that’s the priority, not the coaches’ egos or the parents’ enthusiasm to see their kids winning.”
