Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants had undertaken a five-week online program before finally meeting each other in person at last Saturday’s development day, which served as a culmination of their hard work in 2021.
The day began with a series of workshops targeted at helping the boys as they progressed to the next stage of their development — before splitting up into two teams, All Nations (multicultural) and Kickstart (Indigenous) and playing a tightly contested game.
An occasion that brought talented young footballers together from all around the state, AFL National Indigenous Programs manager Lily Graham said giving these opportunities to footballers in regional Victoria was of utmost importance to the AFL.
“It is really exciting to see kids from anywhere come into our program, especially those who come from regional and rural areas who may not have access to these opportunities otherwise, it is great to be able to give them this chance,” Graham said.
“Our biggest ambition is to have our game accessible to everybody, so having representation in our programs from regional and rural Victoria is extremely important for us, so to see three boys from the Goulburn Valley head down on the weekend was very exciting.”
Created as a way for boys between the ages of 15 and 16 to gain exposure to life as an elite-level sportsperson, Graham explained the countless benefits the All Nations and Kickstart development program provided its participants.
“It is a great opportunity for these boys to see what is expected at the next level and try and really prepare them for what is expected as professional sportspeople,” she said.
“At the end of the day these programs are development programs, so not only do we want to see the players become better footballers, but we really want to see them become better people as well — so it is a massive honour to have kids from all across Victoria participating.”
Guiding the boys through the program were distinguished coaches Lachlan Edwards and Harmit Singh, with the former taking control of the Kickstart squad and the latter the All Nations team.
Having conversations with both coaches following the development day, Graham said they were incredibly impressed with the talent that was on show.
“Our Kickstart head coach Lachlan Edwards loved seeing what the Indigenous boys could bring; they were fast, they were agile and really worked well as a team for a group of boys that had never played together,” she said.
“The All Nations players, they were cool, they were strong, they were fit and exhibited some great skills, all the coaches really enjoyed spending time with the players and were very impressed with the talent on show.”
Now set to embark on training with their respective NAB League teams, Graham outlined what she hoped the boys gained from the program.
“We hope they walk away from the program feeling culturally supported and also knowing there are still opportunities outside of football if they don’t make it through that pathway,” she said.
“As well as knowing that they have contacts within the AFL that can help them when needed and guide them through whatever they are going through.”
