A MOTIVATIONAL football clinic and talk by Socceroo and A-League football player Jade North at Nabiac Public School last Thursday had the students buzzing with excitement.
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Jade came fresh from a morning session at Taree Public School where he was greeted as ‘part of our mob’, having 64 first cousins in the area.
Jade, now 32, was born in Taree and lived in Purfleet up until the age of six.
He began playing football with the Taree Rangers shortly before his family moved to the Gold Coast. He turned professional at the age of 16.
“Since the age of eight, I always wanted to be a footy player,” said Jade. “It was either that, or a movie star.”
At this stage, it seems evident that ‘football player’ has won the toss, with Jade playing in the World Cup qualifiers, and carrying four national league championships under his belt. He has played on winning teams such as Perth Glory, Sydney’s Olympic Sharks, Newcastle Jets (whom he captained to their win), and currently Brisbane Roar, who won the A-League competition in 2013. He has captained the Socceroos in several games in a career which so far has taken him to Japan, Korea, Qatar, and Norway.
Jade’s visit to Nabiac Public School was part of the AFC’s Asian Cup’s Indigenous engagement program, which funds indigenous teams to watch Asian Cup matches in all five host cities, of which Newcastle is one with four matches including a semi-final. The Cup runs from January 9 to 31.
Jade met Nabiac’s enthusiastic students alongside Football Mid North Coast’s technical director Larry Budgen, with both men running groups through football drills before Jade introduced himself to the whole school and took questions.
“Things like this are a great opportunity for the school,” said school principal Karen Cavanagh.
“It’s really good for kids to see someone from our local area talk about being at the top of their field. It’s an incredibly positive role model, and inspires the children to be the best that they can be.”
Jade’s tips to the children were to train hard, and follow their dreams.
“ My biggest challenge was probably fighting my own self belief that I could do it. I got over it by setting small goals, and focusing on my achievements” he said.
True to form, the children’s questions were unpredictable: Is it hot in Brisbane?; how many goals have you scored?; what colour is your uniform?; how many goals have you defended; why is it called football now, instead of soccer?; why do you love soccer?
Jade, it seems, likes football because...the ball is round. The sport also appeals to him because players need a lot of skill, it is fast, there is a lot of running, passing, and sometimes, scoring. But it is also a lot of work.
“Sometime it’s hard to turn up to training everyday with a smile on my face, but then I remember why I started playing football when I was six, because it’s fun, and it’s about being part of a team, and helping each other out. Growing up, I had to push a lot of my social life to the side and concentrate on football. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to get to where you want to be. You just have to remember to keep it fun.”
If not, there is always Hollywood.