PLAYER PROFILE
Mita Graham has been a Waikato Touch Representative since he was 15. Unlike most 15 year olds, Mita did not start his representative career at age group level, but instead was thrown into open level men’s touch, the most competitive provincial grade. From here he has developed into one of NZs great up and coming players, having already made a name on the international stage at only 20 years old. He shares some of his playing experiences and influences.
How old were you when you first started playing touch?
I played muck around touch since I was little and I started playing serious touch at HBHS when I was 15.
How did you get involved with touch? When I was in Year 11 at Hamilton Boys High, Nigel Hotham (former NZ U19 Boys Touch Coach and former NZ Touch representative) started teaching there. I heard he was a good coach so trialled for the school team, and later represented Waikato Open Men’s.
Mita with his HBHS team mates after winning the 2005 Secondary School Touch Tournament What is the name of the club team you play for? TRANZFORMAZ... Roll Where? Roll Out!!
What player/s did you look up to when you first started playing? When I first made the Waikato team I looked up to all the senior players. But if I had to choose 2 players it would be Chris Wall (Former Waikato and NZ Open Men’s Representative) and Aripa Ohia (Current Waikato and NZ Open Men’s representative).
What Touch Players inspire you now and why? There are heaps of players I could talk about. Mainly Peter Walters (Legendary NZ Men’s player and current Touch NZ coaching Director) because he can still carve and he’s been around for ages. He is also a really good ambassador for the sport. Another would be Bruce Kake (Counties Manakau and NZ Open Men’s Player) because he can do some freaky stuff on the field, and is good to watch and play alongside. Dean Williams (Counties Manakau and NZ Mixed Representative) is also another carver on the field.
Who was your most inspirational coach and why? Nigel Hotham. He pretty much taught me everything I know about the game. When I first started I didn’t know anything about the game, such as policies, moves etc. But he had the patience to teach me all that stuff. A lot of my success in this sport is because of him. He's just an awesome coach.
Why do you enjoy playing Touch? It’s fun, and if you are talented enough to play at elite level, you can meet and play with some amazing players.
What is your favourite touch move to do on the field? I can’t tell you that ha ha-ha. Probably a Quickie Bounce (with Aripa ha-ha)
What is your most memorable Touch moment? There's a few that are up there. But the one that sticks out would have to be the 2005' Secondary Schools touch final. It was HBHS vs. Kelston. We won that year.
Can you give us a background of your representative experience?
- Waikato Open Men 2004 – present
- NZ Secondary School Team
- NZ U19 Boys Team
- NZ Maori Open Men
- NZ Open Men
Any words of wisdom for up and coming touch players? “Learn as much as you can from other players and coaches. Train hard but make sure you have fun. And be humble.”
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