For young aspiring footballers like Tane Taua-Gillespie, Te’Shariahna Abbott and Athieng Jok the Eagles academies have helped to provide a pathway to future success.

The Como Secondary College students, joined the Naitanui, Women’s and Girls’ academy programs after taking part in Follow The Dream  – an education program that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in achieving their academic goals and shaping their own futures.

Visual Arts Teacher Monique Laves coordinates the after-school sessions and played a pivotal role in connecting the students with the club after hearing about their passion for football.

“It all came about when we were talking to the students about their favourite things and what they want to do in the future and how it fits in with their study,” Laves said.

“A few of them mentioned they wanted to be football players so it was just a matter of what can we do to help with that? I contacted the AFL and they told me about the Next Generation Academy Pathway.”

All three students come from multicultural or First Nations and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, making them eligible for the Next Generation Academy pathway and providing them with greater football opportunities in tandem with a tangible goal to aspire to going forward.

Tane, who relocated with his family from the Pilbara, joined the Naitanui Academy to elevate his football skills and increase his training load during the week outside of the Perth Development Squad.

“I found out about the Naitanui Academy through a couple of my mates who said I should try it out, so Ms. Laves then helped me sign up,” he shared.

“I’ve learnt a lot more in that term with the academy than ever before. It’s very similar to the development squad and I feel like those trainings have been way harder to the previous ones I had.”

Te’Shariahna and Athieng are classmates at school and teammates on the field with both being talented footballers at Manning Rippers Junior Football Club.

“We were in Follow the Dream and Ms. Laves told us about the Eagles Academies. We talk about footy all the time so once they emailed our parents we started going to the sessions,” Te’Shariahna said.

“We’ve learnt so much about how to improve our skills, but we’ve also learnt a lot more about strategy and extra stuff that’s going to make us better players.”

Athieng shared how inspiring it’s been to learn from former AFLW player Krstel Petrevski who now leads the club’s Women’s and Girls’ Academy.

“It feels pretty good to be able to learn from someone who has played AFLW and achieved all of that. She passes on her experience to us which was cool,” she said.

When asked where the two girls hope to take their football in the future, their answer was simple: “I want to be in the AFLW.”

Through the Eagles academy programs, the three students from Como Secondary College have flourished, something Monique Laves has witnessed firsthand when reflecting on their growth over the past year.

“I think the confidence they’ve got from it has been amazing, they see the Eagles academy as a real privilege and it gives them something to focus on for their future,” she highlighted.

“I think the academies can make a real difference. It increases their self-esteem and self-worth and knowing they are good at something can filter into other areas of their lives.

“Keeping them physically fit along with an education is definitely going to be a way forward to create some really good human beings.”

Through the Club’s academy programs, the West Coast Eagles will continue to work with schools, community groups and junior football clubs to empower youth to achieve their goals on and off the football field.

Visit our Academies page to learn more about the programs.