7th May 2014 – Two time NFL Super Bowl Champion Troy Polamalu from the Pittsburgh Steelers has imparted his knowledge to Pacific Island Rugby Players in the latest Pacific Island Players Association (PIPA) magazine ‘UnderKava.’ Polamalu who has had a glittering American Football career over the last decade passes on his thoughts to rugby players about being a professional athlete.
Troy Polamalu
It may surprise some to read what he believes are the important factors to his success as an athlete and as a person.
“Athletics are so natural to us Samoans and Polynesians that I feel it is more of an accomplishment when I see Polynesians that are lawyers, judges, and doctors that really commit to education. To me that is way more of a success story than, say, me just playing professional football.”
Also in the latest edition of UnderKava two time Olympic shotput champion Valerie Vili discusses what have been important factors in her sustained success and what drives her to keep on achieving.
“I’ve worked so hard to win competitions and as an athlete I know I’m putting in the hard work to be in that spot. I’m going to work hard for that to continue as long as possible.”
PIPA continues to advance their work with Pacific Island Rugby Players to ensure players contribute to the long term success of Pacific Island rugby. In the latest UnderKava magazine we announce the six elected Player representatives from Tonga, Samoa and Fiji.
These team representatives will collectively act as the Pacific Island players’ voice and actively seek feedback from their players. Hurricanes open-side and Samoan players rep Jack Lam says, “As a current player it is important that the players viewpoint is communicated and understood. I am looking forward to working with the other reps and acting on behalf of the Samoan players as the PIPA representative.”
PIPA as always is grateful for the support they are receiving from Digicel. Katie Taylor Digicel’s Head of Marketing says, “It’s great to see the PIPA community growing with every magazine dispatch. The support from iconic Pacific Island players across the globe is phenominal as is their willingness to share their stories for the benefit of others”.
The PIPA UnderKava magazine is now in it’s third edition.
for further information or to subscribe to our mailing list please contact ana.mapusua@pacificislandpa.com
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