“You never know where the next superstar might be,” Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants Academy director John Quinn said as he looked over at the Goulburn High School students.
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Over Tuesday, Mr Quinn tested around 150 students from Goulburn and Mulwaree High School between 12 and 18. His team plan to travel to Canberra, Queanbeyan and Yass for young AFL talent.
“In the coming years AFL will become stronger and stronger in this area,” Mr Quinn said. “It gives young people living in this area the opportunity to play sports at the highest level.”
Bluetooth equipment was set up to measure speed over 20 meters, endurance through the beep test, leg power through flight time and a vision search test.
In total, the talent team will test 2000 students in the South Western NSW and invite the top one per cent to a dedicated camp in Sydney.
Goulburn High School sports teacher Heath Russell said it was a good opportunity for the students to understand what professional teams were looking for.
“We’ve got quite a few kids that play sports at a high level,” he said. “The AFL in this region doesn’t really cater too much. The kids want to see how they test and how they sit.”
This is the first time the Giants Academy has traveled to the Goulburn region at this capacity. Mr Quinn said the GWS plan to return to Goulburn in the future at a regular basis and grow female participation in the sport.
