"We knew we had to get him into a sport because his cousins all play league and his friends play rugby and he was really keen to do something," said Mrs Wanikau.
Te Hoka has been a member of the local swimming club for the past year and a half which Mrs Wanikau said had proved really beneficial.
She said the patience and perseverance of Turangi Soccer Club coach Mark Allen had also enabled their son to train with players alongside his sister for the last season and a half.
This culminated in Te Hoka taking the field with the Turangi Tornados grade 9 side for a short run during a game at the end of May. Since then the youngster has graduated to playing nearly full-length games.
Mrs Wanikau said they never thought their son would get the chance to play in a match and were extremely grateful to Mr Allen.
"It's been beyond all our expectations. We feel very lucky to have found a sport where the coach is so understanding and accepting of his needs, especially since our choice of sports are limited.
"We know that if it wasn't for Mark's guiding support of our son, we wouldn't be involved with soccer any more and feel very fortunate to now have Hoka involved in two sports here in Turangi."
She said members of a Worster-Drought syndrome support group in the United Kingdom with whom they stayed in regular contact were blown away by their son's sporting achievements.
"They can't believe the progress our boy is making."
Mrs Wanikau said they were determined to continue looking at all sporting opportunities for Te Hoka.
