Esteemed teacher and “Coach Plendy” to many – Graeme Plenderleith coached Japanese exchange student Sora Nishimoto in tennis in 2020. File photo
Helping the young people of Te Kūiti reach their potential through sports, music and dance is the name of the game for Graeme “Plendy” Plenderleith.
Plendy’s service in the King Country started 50 years ago when he moved to Te Kūiti from Scotland.
He secured a job at Te Kūiti High School in 1973 and has been in and out of the school since.
The first stint was 28 years until he went on an extended overseas holiday. Upon his return to Te Kūiti, it was only a matter of days before he got the call to return to the high school.
That time he lasted 10 years, but he hasn’t cut ties with the school to this day.
Plendy’s reputation precedes him, with generations of families having been taught by him.
“I can’t get over the number of particularly Māori kids who yell out to me in the streets and come up to give me a hug. It really thrills me,” he said.
“There is so much talent here that is not recognised.
“And for some reason they don’t push themselves enough.”
He said everyone could benefit from having a positive mixture of hobbies in their life.
“I think all kids should be exposed to swimming, an athletic activity, and music. I think these three things are the basis of the human spirit.
“I do my bit with the things I like doing.”
Plendy himself plays trombone and loves ballroom dancing. One of his highlights from his teaching days was teaching students a set of dances in the lead up to their annual ball.
And at 81 years old, he still has the stamina to inspire the next generation.
Plendy has just restarted his gymnastics club after taking a two-year break for Covid. It was proving popular, with almost twice as many students than expected showing up to the first session last week.
But he would like to see more young people show an interest in indoor bowls, which is on from 7pm-9pm on Wednesdays, immediately after a two-hour table tennis session.
Plendy was born in Edinburgh and said he had been “reasonably successful” at school.
“I was certainly not a brilliant student, but I had an interest of course in sport.”
He played rugby and was successful in athletics, holding an under-16 intermediate school record for about three years in long jump.
Plendy also got the opportunity to do Outward Bound while he was at school.
“I was told I was the best young boy on the course. I was only 14 and all the other guys were 16 and 17. I got the top award when I finished – which was pretty exciting for Mum and Dad.”
When he left school, Plendy played football and representative rugby.
“I didn’t do all that well and I certainly wasn’t the best player around, but my name was reasonably well-known in the club circles.”
He was close to immigrating to New Zealand when he got an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
In 1963, Plendy was called to be a standby reserve for the Glasgow-Edinburgh combined team facing the All Blacks.
“That was quite a thrill to me,” he said.
“I was at the stage where I actually had to go out and buy a new pair of boots because I had sent all my gear to Southampton. It was on the ship somewhere, ready to come to New Zealand.”
When he did make it to the land of the long white cloud, Plendy decided to pursue a one-year course at Auckland Teachers’ Training College due to the shortage of physical education teachers.
He thought it was likely because of his background that he was given the opportunity to study there.
And, true to form, Plendy played club rugby while he studied.
“I came up against guys like Wilson Whineray, Waka Nathan and Mack Herewini in club games.”
His first teaching job was at Tauranga Boys College.
After three years, he headed back home and taught in Edinburgh for a year before applying to study at the Scottish School of Physical Education.
While there he met a Canadian girl, just at the start of her big OE, who had been brought to a dance by her boss.
“He said, I’ll take you to this dance and you can meet some young fellas. And that’s what happened.
“We got married, and after a while we came back to New Zealand.”
These days he drives the school bus to Oparure twice a day and keeps a few phrases in his arsenal to keep kids on the right track:
“Just do it.
“Surround yourself with good people. You know the difference between good and bad; surround yourself with good people and you will be successful.
“And the most important thing in life is, be a nice person.”
