Induction Session – March 2nd

Client Services 201 – March 9th

Safety 302 – March 15th

Administration 201 – March 23rd

Turf Management

Follow OHS Procedures - 27th March
Recognise plants - 28th - 4th April
Determine basic properties of soil growing media - 4th - 7th April

 

Parks and Gardens

Observe environ. work pratices - 1st - 2nd March
Follow OHS procedures - 27th March 

David McKay, representating the board of AFL SportsReady, officially welcomed guests, congratulated trainees and thanked host employers, Registered Training Organizations, Department of Education Science and Training, CCI Employsfast and the New Apprenticeship Centre.

After lunch, Phillip Wallbridge (AFL SportsReady CEO) presented each graduating trainee with their certificate of graduation.

Following the official proceedings we watched the first round of the NAB Cup. The game was between The Eagles and The Dockers and was played under very hot conditions. The Dockers were the better team on the day.

On behalf of everyone at AFL SportsReady we would like to congratulate all the graduating trainees.

A youngster from Carnarvon who bucked the odds of opportunity and injury to play 169 games for Sydney and Fremantle over nine years, he will be the last to bask in his sense of achievement.

Instead, Cook recently became the public face of the innovative Kulunga Research Network, the indigenous arm of WA’S Telethon Institute for Child Health Research which is headed by 2003 Australian of the Year, Dr Fiona Stanley.

Cook said being patron of Kulunga would enable him to show Aboriginal youngsters that success was within reach, while also pressing home vital health issues.

“I’ve seen all the bad issues, but with footy a lot of kids do look up to you – especially in Carnarvon where all my family is – and I want the best for them,” he said. “If I can do my part to give back to the community and put a face to the Kulunga Research Network, it will make a big difference to them and to me.”

Kulunga, which was established in 1999, was the first Australian program to invite indigenous people to have comprehensive input into their health research, Dr Stanley said.

Having Cook as patron was a “dream come true” in that it gave the program credibility among WA’s indigenous community, she said.

“We have to understand how important sport is for Aboriginal children and Aboriginal families – it has been a life-saver,” Dr Stanley said.

“Troy is such a role model for Aboriginal people. He’s a great footballer, but he’s also a fantastic person as well and that, to me, is almost more important.

“He’s not going to be a role model where people will go off the rails and imitate his drunkenness or whatever, because that’s not what he’s about. He’s a beautiful, healthy sports person and the message he will take out is so fantastic.”

The tough-as-teak 29-year-old is also a field officer for the AFL SportsReady education program, which aims to help young players better prepare for life after football. There were 63 graduates from that program this year and half of them were indigenous.

He said getting the opportunity to take Dockers posters and other items to Aboriginal children in remote communities gave him a clear sense of worth, with their beaming smiles the only thanks he needed.

“It’s fair enough to say I’m coming to the end of my career in footy, even though I hope I’ve got a few years left. But once it’s all done I’m looking forward to be able to give something back,” Cook said.

“Football’s given me everything I have now and to come from where I have, I owe it to myself to give back. If I can use football as a tool to go out to a community and help it just a little bit, then it will make it easier to break down the barriers.”