Six years ago Crows legend Andrew McLeod and his wife Rachael saw an opportunity to use football as a hook to help indigenous children with their education.
Now, their passion has developed into a suite of five programs under the McLeod Centre of Excellence which is successfully helping students from the APY Lands and Far West Coast region finish school and become active members of their communities.
Football is the hook – it gets kids involved. But the programs are much bigger than sport, with a holistic approach incorporating education and messages of healthy living.
And they're going from strength to strength.
See the full interview with McLeod on Footy Plus here.
“We started small with one program and that’s built out now so we’ve got a suite of programs under the McLeod Centre of Excellence which we run in partnership with the Adelaide Football Club,” McLeod said.
“It was, I guess, born out of a little bit of frustration. I was working at the AFL at the time, and I thought there was an opportunity, a gap, where we could do something.
“I grew up in a pretty small town, and I thought if an opportunity through football, using the brand of the Adelaide footy club, came into my town and offered me education opportunities I’d probably snap them up.
“If we can use that (footy) as a carrot and give kids an opportunity to come and explore their education and further opportunities outside of that, then it’s a win-win.”
The first program the McLeods developed in 2012 was the Indigenous Youth Leadership program which focuses on students in year 10 with improved school attendance, SACE completion, leadership development, employment opportunities and future pathways.
That has since expanded to include four other programs, each with its own specific focus.
There is the McLeod Challenge, a middle school football Carnival, Ready Set Crow, which provides intensive case management to help transition remote students to high school in Adelaide, the Future Leaders program, which is focused on students in year 11 and 12, as well as a scholarship program.
“One thing we learned in the research we were doing is that the kids in the APY Lands were well supported through primary school and there was a gap with the high school stuff so it was about how could we support the schools, the kids and their families for them to be able to have success in high school,” McLeod said.
“There’s a lot of things that can impact, such as the tyranny of distance and culture plays a really big part as well.
“Over the years we looked at other ways we could develop the (initial) program to make the transition (to high school) easier for kids. We have developed some really good partnerships and from there it has really blossomed.”
One of those partners is Wiltja Boarding and The Wiltja Anangu Secondary College – a boarding facility where program officers Mark Mueller and Eddie Hocking, the Club’s first Indigenous player, work closely with students.
In the case of the Ready Set Crow program, there is also support from the Australian Government's Remote School Attendance Strategy.
“For us to have three years of funding from the Government is a big thing. It allows you to plan in advance and is recognition of the work we’ve been doing.”
For the McLeods, who have two kids of their own, the program’s participants have become a bit like an extension of their family.
“What I love is building relationships with the kids. I pride myself on being a really strong role model for my people,” McLeod said.
“We want to provide a place where they can feel safe. With us and our culture there is a real connection, which helps them to feel supported.
“Footy is a great vehicle which we can use at times and we do try to incorporate some footy and activities but for us it’s about providing a balance.
“We want to do anything we can to help them further themselves, through sport, education and then to the next stage of entering the workforce.”
McLeod knows it will take time to change ingrained behavioural patterns, but he is already seeing younger kids watch their older peers pass through the programs and make an impact in their communities – driving their own desire to do the same.
“We’ve had some great success. It’s so rewarding when you see students go back to their community and make an impact from what they’ve learnt,” he said.
“It’s those moments when you can change someone from saying ‘I hate this’ to ‘I love this’ which are so beneficial. It’s those moments that we look forward to.”
