More than 16,000 parents and guardians keep sport running in the Whanganui.
Tens of thousands of kids wake up bright and early every Saturday morning, tie their boots or strap their pads on. And often they're followed by bleary-eyed parents coaching, refereeing or helping out to make it happen.
More than 30 per cent of Whanganui adults volunteer in sport or recreation, the most recent Sport New Zealand survey found - a figure that has stayed steady since the previous survey in 2007/08.
Without these 16,000 parents and adults, youth sport couldn't operate.
About 57 per cent of these volunteers coach or instruct, and 37 per cent assist as a parent helper. Around a quarter officiate and 29 per cent were in administration roles.
Sport New Zealand senior coaching adviser Andrew Eade said adult volunteers were essential to making youth sport happen, but were often reluctant to put their hands up because of a lack of confidence.
But Mr Eade said more often than not, coaching and volunteering was a highly rewarding activity.
"For people who engage in coaching and get comfortable with what they're doing, very high levels report it's one of the most satisfying things they do in their lives," Mr Eade said.
"Once people discover that, it no longer becomes an imposition to find the two hours a week, it becomes the thing they look forward to most."
He said coaching was frustrating at times but the involvement went beyond the game.
"That ability for parent coaches to influence young people at a stage in their life when they need good adult role models in a positive way can be enormously rewarding.
"It'll also frustrate the hell out of them, but that's what happens with some of the best experiences."
More than just a sport
Tim Hocquard has been coaching his two sons' rugby and cricket teams for more than 10 years, something he said is incredibly rewarding.
He said he started out coaching solely because no one else put their hand up.
"If no one stood up and coached the boys they weren't going to have a game of rugby. There just wasn't going to be a team," Mr Hocquard said.
He said seeing kids develop and come out of their shell is one of the most satisfying aspects of the role.
"You can see a child's confidence grow just by a couple of little achievements on the field, or a comment one of their friends make to them about something cool they did on the field. It's amazing what that does for little kids," he said.
The achievements can be minor in scale, but can mean the world to the players at a young age.
"They come off the field grinning ear to ear because they got seven runs. And you think 'really?' But they're stoked - that might be one more than last week.
"You lose your Saturday morning and a couple of afternoons a week, but it's fun. It's really rewarding."