Before he wowed the country with his basketball prowess, Nic Naitanui hit the road to Hedland last week as part of the club’s Kicking Goals program.

The West Coast Eagles ruckman paid a visit to the kids at Hedland Senior High School, where he went through training drills, gave footy tips and advice, and chatted to the students about healthy eating, lifestyle and exercise.

“It’s good to get out of Perth and spend some time with the local kids,” Naitanui said.

“I talked a bit about health and encouraged the kids to chase their dreams and stay active. They love it when you come up here and it’s good to get involved and hear how they’re tracking.”

The West Coast Eagles’ Kicking Goals Program, run in conjunction with Swan Districts Football Club and BHP Billiton, is one of Australia’s largest regional-based sports mentoring programs. It combines sports based initiatives to help high school students in Port Hedland and the Newman achieve better educational and employment outcomes.

Kicking Goals is a curriculum-based program that utilises a reward and incentive system, where students are required to maintain certain key performance indicators to stay in the program and be eligible for various incentives, including visits by West Coast players such as Naitanui.

Thanks to principal community partner BHP Billiton, West Coast Eagles players and staff are able to make 10 visits to the Pilbara every year for the program.