PORT ADELAIDE’s Aboriginal AFL Academies have graduated for another year, overcoming significant challenges along the way.
In a COVID-impacted year, the Aboriginal AFL Academy (AAA) and Women’s Aboriginal AFL Academy (WAAA) were shifted away from the club’s Alberton headquarters, which became an AFL bubble restricted to Power players and selected staff only.
The Academies were also limited to just one game of football against opposition.
Port Adelaide’s Director of Aboriginal Programs, Paul Vandenbergh said the graduation was a special celebration of resilience and team work.
“To see them graduate has been quite remarkable because they showed so much resilience, particularly in term two when they lost so many hours of their education,” he explained.
“They missed a whole term, and when you consider it’s three hours per week, they really had to work hard to catch that up in a term and a half and that speaks volumes about the character of these young people.
“We were really lucky to have SAASTA on board to ensure that the students remained engaged especially in that period and ensuring they got through their schooling.”
The AAA and the WAAA are part of the club’s suite of industry-leading programs for Aboriginal students, which focus on providing a quality educational experience for participants.
They also provide participants with a chance to refine their football skills with craft sessions.
Students complete a Certificate III in Fitness, which provides 100 SACE credits but can also complete Stage 2 Aboriginal Studies, along with a Certificate III in Sports and Recreation and/or Cross Disciplinary Studies (Sports Science).
Among the awards presented at last Thursday night’s graduation were the Excellence and Leadership awards, which were taken out by Jordan Tippins from Tyndale Christian School and Afton Penrith from Charles Campbell College.
Sports awards were also presented to Henley High School’s Phoenix Spicer and Lakeesha Pickett from Ocean View College.
Pickett is the daughter of 2004 Port Adelaide Premiership player and Norm Smith Medallist Byron Pickett, and the cousin of Melbourne footballer Kysaiah Pickett, who is a past academy graduate.
Mr Vandenbergh said all students should be commended for their dedication and application to the program, especially when lessons were taken away from Alberton and football sessions and games were limited.
“Being at Alberton was easy because of having the gear, the access to resources and the ease of access to public transport,” he said.
“It was another challenge to take the program off-site but the students again found a way to get there.
“The hook and the model for us in that program has always been the footy training and games.
“Unfortunately, we could only have the one game this year against Henley High School. The boys lost and the girls won, but for them to stay engaged and remain in the program speaks volumes about our connections and relationships with those people and what we’re trying to do for them.
“I’m sure if we had a survey of the young people we would get a low grade for the football part of the program, but they never complained, they always did what they had to do and I think we created an environment which was safe and allowed them to finish the work and their education, which is what our priority was.”
As a reward for their participation and hard work, the year 12 cohort from the academies will travel to Darwin later this month for a cultural experience.
“The young people in our Academies always look forward to the trip and in previous years we’ve been fortunate enough to travel to places like China and New Zealand,” Mr Vandenbergh said.
“Given the travel restrictions in place at the moment we thought Darwin would be a great location this year.
“It will allow the students to immerse themselves in our cultures in the top end and a real reward for their achievements in such a difficult year.”
The AAA and WAAA are a partnership between the Port Adelaide Football Club, the South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy (SAASTA), the National Indigenous Australians Agency, the University of Adelaide and Herbalife Nutrition.
