Blink, and you’ll easily miss it.
Nestled between one of Lower Hutt’s busy thoroughfares and the train tracks is a small piece of land, housing two throwing cages and some sand pits.
But Sola Power Throwing Academy founder Shaka Sola said the set up wasn't always there.
“This place here, was non-existent. It was a pony paddock, they bred horses here. Why don't we breed some champions here,” Sola said.
“My vision was to see my sport being portrayed at a higher level, and that kids were able to do it for next to nothing - that sport wasn’t about the money.”
That goal came from Sola's own experiences growing up.
Sola moved to New Zealand from Samoa as a youngster and was taken under the wing of Welsh athletics coach Phil ‘Taffy’ Jones.
“He was a cut-throat guy, he called a spade a spade. He was very passionate at the same time and he always stuck up for the athlete. The athlete was always the most important person.”
Sola forged his own successful career as a thrower, but his main legacy will far more likely be the work he’s done at the academy since retiring.
It’s no surprise that much of his old coach’s legacy has now passed down to Sola at the academy, where Taffy’s name sits above the indoor facility.
“He’d be in his Welsh accent [saying], 'oh, the bloody hell'!”
The academy caters to everyone who comes along with the right attitude and has the facilities and expertise to offer top-level coaching across all the disciplines; discuss, shot put, javelin and the hammer.
“You walk through those gates and you think you've got a bad ass attitude. All we ask is you leave that behind and we'll make you a better person.”
And that much is echoed by all his athletes.
“It's what you learn from day dot basically, is that we're all here to better ourselves instead of going in to beat everyone else," says his daughter, and promising thrower, Mikayla.
"He treats everyone the same. Any kid that comes in here [he treats them] literally like his own kids.”
Another of the academy’s athletes, Nathaniel Sulupo, says it’s somewhere kids come and feel safe and comfortable.
“He [Sola] gives off that energy where kids feel comfortable coming in and feel comfortable talking to any of the coaches about anything," Sulupo said.
"It's a place where you can learn how to throw, but also somewhere you can feel like you can just belong.”
Sulupo is just one of a number of athletes at the academy who may well be destined for even greater things on track.
“I said it when we first opened this ground in 2013, that we will bring an Olympian out of here, I'd love to see that. And I promise there will be somebody that comes from here," Sola said.
"And if not, they'll be a champion at life anyway."
Athletes at the academy are given every possible support to chase their goals, including expert tips from the likes of Philip Jensen, a 20-time New Zealand hammer throw champion, who’s just one of many throwing legends Sola brings in to help the athletes.
“Shaka and I didn't have facilities like this growing up to train in,” Jensen said.
“What it's really doing well is creating good people. All of the athletes here are actually good, good kids. Which is fantastic, gives them opportunities.”
Drawing in competition
One of the biggest opportunities comes in the form of the annual throwing meet, run by Sola and the academy, that routinely brings top New Zealand talent to Lower Hutt.
From Tom Walsh to Jacko Gill and Julia Ratcliffe – they’ve all come here and thrown at some stage.
Gold medal para-shot putter Lisa Adams has also thrown at the event, and Sola’s goal is to make sure her older sister Valerie does before hanging up her boots.
“We've had Valerie here three or four times, and [she’s] been absolutely awesome inspiring our kids. But she's yet to throw here!”
And the chances of that might have increased now that the academy’s meet has been granted an area permit status – taking the competition to the next level, and potentially attracting top talent from even further afield going forward.
“The more we've had this competition, and seeing the level that it's got to, and the calibre of throwers coming then that was inevitably the next thing to try and get, an area permit meet.
"And once again it's doing right by the athletes, if you're going to run something, run it properly. That’s something I learned from Taff.”
Lessons handed down from coach to coach, now ensuring the next generation gets the best chance possible to launch their own careers.
Or at the very least, become good people.
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