WATCHING your son or daughter grow up to be a professional sportsman or sportswoman must be one of the best feelings in the world.
Knowing that they have both the talent and the drive to get to the top can often be testament to a parent’s ability to guide them along the way.
For former St Helens and Widnes Vikings forward, John Stankevitch, that could well become a reality in the next few years if his son continues on the same path that he did.
Stankevitch, born in Whiston, Merseyside, debuted for Saints in 2000 and went on to win a Grand Final and a World Club Challenge whilst at the club.
Now, Stankevitch’s 16-year-old son Oliver is on the St Helens scholarship and determined to make it all the way in rugby league.
“It’s fantastic, I always said if I had a lad I would want him to do what he wanted to do but he tried football and then he sort of fell into rugby,” Stankevitch told League Express.
“A couple of his friends played, so he joined West Bank Bears and I ended up coaching the team. No other parents wanted to do it but as soon as I took Oliver down, they knew my background and that was it.
“I’m massively proud, he really wants to be a professional rugby player – that’s the big thing.
“Obviously I’m giving him as much guidance as I can without putting too much pressure on him. He really enjoys it and there is a little bit of talent there as well which has been noticed by St Helens.
“I’ve just been telling him to work hard and if he does work hard and gets the opportunities then you never know what can happen and he could become a professional.
“He is 16, he is 17 in November. He played two weeks ago against Wigan and he played really well.”
Stankevitch went on to describe what Saints fans may become accustomed to over the next few years and what they can expect from Oliver.
“He’s nothing like me – I used to run away from players because I didn’t want to get tackled! Oliver is a different player completely,” Stankevitch continued.
“He plays prop forward, I started out as a back-rower and then progressed into the front-row in the last few yers of my career.
“Oliver runs direct and strong, runs hard and he’s a big thing. He likes getting involved with the rough and tough.
“People who watch him say he is like an old-fashioned type prop forward that just rolls his sleeves up, calls for the ball, runs in and gets battered. He just gets on with it.”
