As part of their Diploma of Community Services, members of the NRL squad delivered a workshop on resilience to inspire the Year 6 students at Campsie Public School on August 14.
While the recent form of the Bulldogs has got the entirety of the Canterbury-Bankstown community humming, a crew including Toby Sexton, Josh Curran, Jeral Skelton, Chris Patolo, Hayze Perham, Joash Papalii and Kitione Kautoga delivered an uplifting and inspiring program to the youngsters.
All seven players, as well as Karl Oloapu - who had commitments in Bundaberg - have enrolled in their diplomas, as they look to build upon their community work throughout their careers and beyond. Split into two groups, the players ran a workshop with both classes which garnered plenty of fanfare.
It was another successful visit arranged through the Club's Education Department which aims to assist players to be workforce ready post their playing careers.
"Having one-on-ones with players to see what they want to do and what they were interested in, we worked out that quite a number of them wanted to work with young people and those with disabilities," Bulldogs Career Coach Renee Liddy explained.
"We decided to run a Diploma of Community Services as that gets qualification for a number of spaces. We wanted to ensure they could get a qualification, and for an hour each week, we bring in a teacher to deliver a class that allows them to study their units together while balancing their training and playing commitments.
"As part of that, we did a school visit where the players had to deliver a workshop with the students."
Teacher James Lee cited the invaluable experience for students, which educated and inspired them to understand resilience as the players shared their own personal experiences.
“The kids were excited to have the NRL players come in as we have a number of students who enjoy Rugby League, whether playing or watching on television,” Mr Lee said.
“To have the players that they’ve watched talk about what they’ve gone through themselves, they took a lot out of the experience.
Year 6 students are at a point of their lives where they are going through a lot of changes, and while it can be a bit challenging for them to fully understand, the players put in the effort to open up to the students and speak on their level.
“Chris Patolo was particularly impressive. He spoke about his injuries, his experience, resilience and positivity. The squad all emphasised the importance of family as well.
“I know a lot of our students who play footy on the weekends have that dream of playing in the NRL too, so they were able to instill a lot of belief in being able to achieve their dreams.
“It was even a great achievement for them just to tell the NRL players that they’re doing the same thing on the weekend as they once did.
“We’ve always had a diverse community with people of all different backgrounds and a lot of students who enjoy Rugby League.
"For a lot of students who are showing interest, just being able to meet the players and hear their stories is a precious opportunity that they don’t normally get."
Word spread quickly amongst the school with Mr Lee saying the visit and insights from the players helped inspire the students and taught them valuable lessons about building resilience.
Teavae Kare, one of the Year 6 students, was thrilled to meet some of his heroes, learn from their experiences, and of course, grab a few signatures and photos as well.
“They answered all our questions about resilience,” Teavae said.
“They taught us about what to do when you need resilience and spoke about how playing sport can help make us resilient.
“My favourite was Joash Papalii. It was really fun having them here, getting a picture and getting their signatures," he said.
