ONE OF THE HILLS FINEST ...
Dennis is proud of being part of the Little Athletics for over thirty years . Photo : Kathryn Johnston . by Lorna Gordon
Dennis Coker is more likely to be seen giving out medals than receiving one himself , but after more than three decades of being involved with Little Athletics , I think he deserves one of his own .
A chef by trade , Dennis started his career cooking for the domestic side of Qantas and worked his way up the ranks until he was a sous chef responsible for running the entire catering centre of over 100 staff .
He stayed with the airlines for twenty years until moving to food services for local hospitals , where he was responsible for the chefs who prepared patients ’ meals . He worked all over Sydney , from Westmead , Royal North Shore , Hornsby and Mona Vale hospitals before he took redundancy and a well-earned break .
Dennis has always enjoyed sports ; he played rugby league , baseball and grid iron ( American football ) in his younger years , and originally became part of the Little A ’ s family when his own three children joined up all those years ago .
Dennis and his wife both signed up to be parent helpers and he became more and more involved over the years until he reached his current role as a zone co-ordinator . These days he is looking after six different clubs around the area , including Norwest , Winston Hills , Kings Langley , Rouse Hill , Hawkesbury and Riverstone .
As well as doing the usual things that need done for any Little A meeting , such as helping set up the tracks and getting seating and shades put out for parents and helpers , Dennis did extensive training to become a coach and an official .
He is qualified at Level One for Middle Distance Runs and Walks , Level Two Track and C Grade Walks , Senior Athletics B Grade Track and Throws , and is a Grade C Technician for walks and jumps .
All of these skills have taken him to sporting events that most people would love to attend , including the Olympics and Paralympics when they were held in Sydney . I asked him what it was like to be selected as an official at such an important event .
“ Being selected as an official was a huge honour in itself , there were only 150 people across Australia and some of the islands who were chosen . It was a four year process to get there , everybody was continually assessed over three years , then the appointments were made about 12 months out .”
His memories of the events are ones he will never forget , but it was the Paralympics which really stood out for him .
“ The Sydney Olympics was great , but the Paralympics were out of this world . The involvement of all the people who were there was amazing , we had schools from all across Australia coming to it . Everyone cheered for all the athletes , the crowd got behind everyone , not just the Aussies , it was a fantastic atmosphere .”
The Olympics aren ’ t the only sporting
6 ISSUE 90 // DECEMBER 2022 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT