The King’s High School year 13 pupil is beginning to make his mark on the national boccia scene.
Fa’asega (18) recently won two silver medals at the national championships in Christchurch, finishing second in both the individual and teams categories.
They were not medals he thought he would win.
Playing in a large field, he won his way through pool play, before advancing through quarterfinals and semifinals to the final.
They were his first national medals since taking up the sport five years ago.
Boccia is a sport in which players are seated and throw a ball as close to a marker ball as possible, similar to bowls.
It was initially created for people with cerebral palsy, which Fa’asega has down his right side, but includes people with other severe physical disabilities.
Fa’asega took the sport up because his parents thought it would be good for him.
He enjoyed it and his parents proved to be a big influence, as did his coach, Kelly Nooy, and boccia-playing friend Hunter Edgecombe.
He also swims and competes at the Halberg Games, a three-day national sports festival open to young people with a physical or visual impairment.
Fa’asega has been described by his teachers as a keen participant in school life and brings commitment and passion to house competitions.
He has secured a job in Dunedin next year and plans to continue to playing boccia, hoping to reach as high a level as possible.
