By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
SPORT’S transformative power has taken a Dandenong-based youth drug and alcohol service by surprise.
Young at-risk clients from Youth Support and Advocacy Service have soared due to help from a band of Melbourne Rebels rugby players.
At first there was confusion from many of YSAS’s at-risk youngsters, with many wondering why elite sportsmen were interested in them.
But for the young people, many of Pacific Islander background, the exchange tapped into a deep love of rugby, with the players attracting awe reserved for few others.
In some cases the youngsters, who have substance abuse issues, have made two years of progress in a matter of months.
Some have started training twice a week and playing with Endeavour Hills Rugby Club and some have landed their first ongoing jobs. Females in particular have taken to the game, plugging a drastic player shortage in the Endeavour Hills women’s side.
Among the highlights for the clients was playing a game at half-time in front of 15,000 people during a Rebels match at AAMI Park.
YSAS client Hayley has barely missed a training session at Endeavour Hills and has thrived on out-of-training gym sessions with friends at the club. “It feels like a family,” she said. “I like being part of a team. I don’t like losing – I’m quite competitive.”
She and client Chantelle admit they found the training a gruelling task but it reintroduced them to a love of sport. Now sport comes ahead of clubbing. “It takes up heaps of time and I’m too tired to go out,” Chantelle said.
Four Rebels players including Eddie Aholelei, who hails from Tonga, led the young people through tackling drills, gym visits and boxing spars.
Every time he has a day off, Aholelei heads out to YSAS, attending one of the clients’ court hearings as support.
He’s regarded by the youngsters as a mate. “I’ve seen a lot of kids in Tonga who left school early, never worked and didn’t do anything with their lives,” Aholelei said. “I just wanted to get involved and help them.”
Community programs manager Warren Eames said he hadn’t thought YSAS youngsters would take to sport. He’s seen the rugby involvement give an identity to the young people, many who had never felt part of a group or school.
“These guys have had their troubles socially, with the legal system and their family circumstances,” he said. “As they’ve got more motivated and inspired they’ve started to make their own way to the gym, training and matches.”
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