Adam Goodes Talent Program
The inaugural intake of the Adam Goodes Talent Program saw 60 young Indigenous boys from across NSW and the ACT travel to Sydney for their first camp at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern.
The three-day camp covered everything from high-performance testing to social media education, and included a behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Swans clubhouse with club legends Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin.
In the opening session of the day, Adam Goodes spoke to the group about his experiences with football during his teenage years, and urged all participants to make the most of the opportunities that the program would bring.
Edited version of Adam Goodes speaking at the NCIE:
I actually didn’t start playing football til I was 14; I played soccer up until then so already you guys have a massive head-start on me. I used to love playing soccer and all different sports so I recommend that all of you guys play some different sports, be active, be healthy and understand your body.
You’re going to get a great opportunity being part of this academy, to know what it’s like to train like a professional athlete, to see facilities where they train, to see other kids your age playing football with the Swans and Giants Academies. Just imagine yourself being out there, whether it’s with your Adam Goodes academy jumper on, or whether it’s for the GWS or Swans Academy in future years. Imagine yourself being there, because once you do that, you’re actually setting a goal for yourself that that’s where you want to be.
It wasn’t until I was 16 and playing for Vic Country that I actually felt I was good enough to play AFL. As soon as I knew in my mind that it was something I wanted to do, it was a lot easier to do the small things. Go to training, go to school every day, make sure I was eating the right food and drinking enough water during the day – all those things become a lot easier because that’s where I wanted to be. I wanted to be in the AFL and test myself against all the best kids in the country. I wanted to test myself against all the best players in Australia.
You’re going to get great information here, at your age you will get some of the best information you can possibly get about football, about your diet, about education and how you can stay in school and most importantly you’re going to get a really good education about who you are and how you can be a good person. For me, that’s the most important thing.
It’s great we’re going to find some really talented footballers in this group, but if we can create the next group of Indigenous role models. Those kids that when we send you back to your communities; your cousins, your brothers, your sisters, your family members – they start looking up to you because you’re part of the Adam Goodes academy and that’s something to be really proud about.
So this is the first step, it’s the easy part. The tough part is when you leave here.
For more photos from the camp, please visit AFL NSW/ACT on Facebook
