Young Warriors star Elijah Taylor joins Pinnacle

7 May 2010

immediate release

Young Warriors star Elijah Taylor joins Pinnacle

Rising Warriors rugby league player Elijah Taylor is the latest young athlete to be admitted to the Pinnacle programme.

Pinnacle is a nationwide organisation, backed by the Hyundai motor vehicle network, which provides young athletes with a range of professional and personal skills to help them reach world-best status.

Taylor, 20, is expected to be in the programme for the next 18 to 24 months.

Last year he was captain of the NYC side (commonly called the Junior Warriors) and Player of the Year. He is currently recovering from knee surgery which has kept him out of the NRL side this season.

Taylor is able to play as a back rower, standoff or centre.

“Im rapt to have this opportunity,” commented the talented young Aucklander.

“I’ve spoken to graduates of Pinnacle and I can see the real difference the programme can make.

“I’m looking forward to gaining these new skills off the park and using them to improve my performance.”

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Born in the Taranaki town of Hawera, Elijah Taylor grew up in nearby Patea. After his family later moved to Northland, he finished his schooling at St Paul’s College in Auckland.

A rugby union age group representative for Taranaki, Northland and Auckland, he started playing rugby league only when he was at St Paul’s. He played for NZ Maori under-18s in 2007.

Taylor joined the Vodafone Warriors’ inaugural NYC team in 2008, when he played all 27 games, and captained the side in 2009, taking his NYC tally to 47 appearances.

He was named the club’s NYC Player of the Year, becoming the inaugural winner of the Sonny Fai Medal.

He was about to play his initial first-grade game in 2009 when forced out with a minor injury. Taylor was to become an NRL player at the start of 2010 while still being eligible for the NYC, when again injury intervened: a ruptured ACL knee joint has sidelined him for six months.

Elijah Taylor becomes the ninth Pinnacle athlete and the first from a totally team sport.

This month saw the graduation of current world rowing champion Peter Taylor (lightweight double scull) and Paralympic gold medal-winner Adam Hall (standing slalom).

Peter Taylor’s scull partner Storm Uru is another graduate of Pinnacle, as are triathlete Debbie Tanner, steeplechaser-turned-traithlete Kate McIlroy, swimmer Moss Burmester, sailor Andrew Murdoch and wakeboarder Andrea Fountain (now retired internationally).

Further athletes are expected to be inducted into Pinnacle this year.

Through mentoring within Hyundai and beyond, Pinnacle builds on the athlete’s physical conditioning and their technical training in their sport.

Pinnacle instills a range of mental skills, lifestyle controls and professional techniques which are usually the difference between success and failure at the highest level.

“Elijah is a perfect Pinnacle athlete,” said the CEO of Pinnacle, Ian Miles.

“He’s a high-achieving young athlete with a big future, looking to understand the role that factors outside his immediate sport can make to his performance and his life.

“We know the difference Pinnacle skills can make, we see it from our world champions and Olympians; now it’s time to share those skills with a team sport.”

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