Tongan star gets an edge on sports field

Marvin Philip at the 72,000 seat University of California - Berkeley, football stadium, where he plays for the university's Golden Bears gridiron team. Picture / Martin Sykes

He is a clean-cut and gently spoken Christian but when Californian university football star Marvin Philip gets on the football field he'll swear in Tongan if it helps win the game. Just don't tell his mother.

American-born Philip, 22, is among the top college football centres in the United States, selected as one of six finalists for the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the nation's best.

At 1.9m and weighing 134kg (295lbs) he is the perfect size for the job.

The third son of Tongan parents who migrated to San Francisco in 1971, Philip has shown exceptional talent in sport, as have many Polynesians in America.

He embraces his warrior ancestry along with some of the more colourful Tongan dialect, which he swears gives him an edge.

The day the Herald meets Philip at the University of California's Berkeley stadium, he is surrounded by reporters wanting his comments about the failure of their team to make the Rose Bowl.

Philip plays for Cal, also called the Golden Bears, and the next morning the nationally-ranked team's disappointment is front-page news in the San Francisco Chronicle.

It would have been the first time Cal, bumped out by Texas, reached the Rose Bowl since 1959.

"Everybody's pretty bummed," Philip tells the Herald. "But the good news is the coach has signed an extension to his contract."

Coach Jeff Tedford's new contract earns him $1.5 million a year, with a bonus of $2.5 million if he stays the full term.

There's serious money in this sport, and Philip plans to benefit too.

He is set on a career in professional football, paired with real estate as a back-up.

"It is a definite dream to play professional, maybe the Oakland Raiders or the San Francisco 49ers."

Philip is in his third year at university, taking American Studies with an emphasis on business.

His football scholarship pays for books and tuition, and helps with the rent and groceries.

It makes for a gruelling regime.

"Time management becomes very important," Philip says standing on top of the California Memorial Stadium.

His trademark grin switches to a grimace as he points to the thousands of steps around the bowl, which seats 72,000.

"When we train we have to run up and down each one right around."

Philip chose the University of California at Berkeley because of its academic reputation.

But his star abilities on the football field put his studies into second place. The playing season is in autumn, August to December, but the team trains all year.

Philip spends about seven or eight hours at the stadium on top of school work.

"It is full on ... but study is going well. We get tutors provided because so much time is taken up by sport."

Philip is glad his parents moved to America.

"It has provided opportunities for myself and family. I would love to go back and help family there - it's an incentive to work hard."

He grew up in Foster city, in San Mateo County, where he was born.

His two older brothers were born in Hawaii and he has relatives in New Zealand, where his grandmother recently died.

His oldest brother owns a recording studio in Los Angeles and the middle brother is a bodyguard for the Backstreet Boys.

Philip's mother works for a computer company and his father moved back to Tonga in 1996 where he remarried and is an importer and exporter.

Despite having lnever lived in Tonga, Philip is proud to be a Tongan.

His mother is highly involved in the local community and he gives inspirational talks to Tongan youth and other Polynesians. Many, like Philip, are first generation Americans.

"And the sports media are always talking about what good players we make."

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle last month highlighted that Philip had seven first or second cousins playing in the college football Pac-10.

Philip also belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a mission with the church in South Dakota in 2001-02.

He found the missionary work more taxing than football training.

"You're up at 6.30 in the morning and out until 10.30 at night ... it teaches you a lot about the work ethic which had definitely contributed to how I have played this year."

* Angela Gregory and Martin Sykes' visit was sponsored by the Pacific Co-operation Foundation.