Te Tupu: Growing Together

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For Sasho Stosic, rugby league is more than just a sports game. It’s a sense of belonging.

He knows first-hand how powerful having a place, a purpose, and the right people around you, can be.

Sasho’s (pronounced Sar-shor) upbringing wasn’t fancy. In fact, far from it. What he did have, however, was a loving whānau.

But growing up in an isolated rural community, Sasho (Ngāti Rongomai, Ngai Tamahaua) felt disconnected from his culture. That was until he found belonging in rugby league.

“There were other kids who looked like me, who dressed like me. I felt at home,” he says.

He realised it wasn’t just the love for the game that sparked joy, it was the people.

That’s why he deeply believes in Te Tupu – a whānau and community capability development kaupapa that focuses on reclaiming traditional Māori values and philosophies to empower sports leaders to re-orientate the mainstream sports club environment from a business model to a hapū-centric ecosystem.

Implemented by Tauranga-based Tātai Ora Charitable Trust, the kaupapa aligns with a Māori world view to better support the needs and holistic wellbeing of whānau and the community.

The name Te Tupu comes from the whakataukī – Tūngia te ururua kia whakatupu ai te tupu o te harakeke.

“Te Tupu draws on the concept of removing what prevents us from reaching our potential, to allow for new growth,” Sasho says.

“We must work with systems and structures within the sporting environment that meet the needs of whānau and don’t disrupt the natural alignment between whānau aspirations and whānau wellbeing.

“Te Tupu prioritises fostering thriving whānau and building connected, supportive communities, which ultimately drives success both within and beyond the sporting arena.”

A pilot programme during the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022 allowed Sasho to see the benefits of the Te Tupu model first-hand.

Now, with the support of Sport New Zealand, he plans to launch a new and exciting pilot study exploring the opportunities to grow sector capability early next year.

“I can’t wait to see whānau thrive as part of it,” Sasho says.

Sasho, Tātai Ora’s Pouwhakarewa and Manahautū, has an extensive and impressive background in rugby league as an athlete and administrator, with experience at community, national, and international levels.

As an athlete, Sasho played National Secondary Schools NZ Rugby League before moving to Australia where he and his brother represented the Canberra Raiders U20 team.

While his brother made the National Rugby League, Sasho returned home to Taranaki “feeling like I failed”. He fell into factory work, but knew that wasn’t his path. Sasho then studied personal training extramurally, before completing further studies at the University of Waikato.

But it wasn’t without personal challenges.

“I went to see a medical professional and he diagnosed me with depression.”

In his “ups and downs” Sasho admits he didn’t know how to regulate his emotions.

“I went into a spiral,” he says. “What I know now as a mature adult, is that I was always an emotional kid with a very active mind. Not knowing how to process my feelings often left me struggling with low moods.”

He returned to Australia in an attempt to further pursue his rugby league career, but a knee injury put a halt to that, forcing him to return home once again to Taranaki.

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“We walk alongside whānau, step by step, to help them break down the barriers and overcome the kinds of fears that hold all of us back from reaching our full potential.”

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That is when his rugby league administration career began.

From 2006, his career included General Manager of Taranaki Rugby League, New Zealand Māori Rugby League, General Manager of Wales Rugby League, Football Operations Manager of New Zealand Rugby League and General Manager of Upper Central Zone of NZRL Inc. For 11 years, he was in senior management and leadership roles in the sport locally, nationally and internationally.

“I remember one of the General Managers asked me what it was that gets me out of bed every day. It took me two weeks to answer and I realised it was the people, not the game.”

In 2015, Sasho says he became burnt out and suffered another emotional breakdown. He had become a new father and the timing coincided with one of the hardest years of his life.

“Parenting was so stressful, but it was also my saving grace.”

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By 2016, Sasho’s focus changed and he understood the importance of whānau in an athlete’s success.

“I reconnected to culture, with my Māoritanga”.

The next year he took on a new role with E Tū Whānau with the Ministry of Social Development, focusing on positive change through supporting whānau to thrive.

This part of the mahi was what Sasho loved the most and was what sowed the seed for Tātai Ora Charitable Trust.

“We believe that every whānau holds the potential to realise their mana motuhake (a feeling and sense of self-determination, liberation, empowerment and control) by becoming the greatest version of themselves,” Sasho says.

“We walk alongside whānau, step by step, to help them break down the barriers and overcome the kinds of fears that hold all of us back from reaching our full potential.”

Sasho says it was his administration roles that opened opportunities to listen to what whānau really needed and helped him to grow as a person.

But Sasho is a firm believer of not leaving things to chance. That’s why Te Tupu is intentional, deliberate, and strategic.

“It was the people I stumbled across who helped shape my unstructured pathway forward.

“I know what we’ve got is magic, it’s powerful, and it’s really simple. But this is not a short-term fix. It’s creating long lasting change for collective impact.”

Although his experience helped pave the way for the inception of Te Tupu, it is not restricted to rugby league and Sasho says it is instead a concept that is beneficial for all sports codes.

Tātai Ora began with just himself, a part-timer and a voluntary administrator. Today, they have seven full-time and two part-time staff and a focus on long-term change to ensure long-term success.

Te Tupu is part of this long-term focus.

Initially, the pilot study will operate for up to six months, but Sasho expects the approach to be implemented in sports clubs internally without too much extra work for anyone.

It will be about providing support and resources to clubs for Te Tupu to become a natural part of life for sports clubs.

“My hope is that this will demonstrate a values-based approach to supporting whānau,” Sasho says.

Sasho believes ensuring whānau wellbeing is paramount over performance will only enhance the experience for all involved and naturally provide an outlet for success.

“It’s pretty exciting.”

tataiora.nz

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Words by Kristin Macfarlane  Photography by Naera Ohia

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