‘I remember when …’: Travis Cloke reflects on his sporting journey

Former Collingwood star Travis Cloke fondly remembers a junior coach who had a profound impact on him … and also doing work experience at the Magpies with Neil Balme as a 14-year-old.

Travis Cloke holds the 2010 Premiership Cup, with father David and brother Cameron.

Travis Cloke, 35, enjoyed an outstanding AFL career, playing 256 games and booting 452 career goals between 2005 and 2017.

A hulking key forward who was recruited by Collingwood as a father-son selection, Cloke played in the Magpies’ 2010 premiership side.

These days, he is Essendon’s VFLW coach and also has a role in the Bombers’ AFL men’s program as a specialist coach.

Here, he reflects on his sporting journey, fondly remembering a junior coach who had a profound impact on him and also the first time he was handed a Big V jumper.

Big V jumper

My name is Travis Cloke and I remember receiving my first Victorian jumper as an 11-year-old in the state primary school team. That’s 25 years ago now!

To wear the Big V is pretty special to be honest. It’s something I would love to see come back into the AFL community, that’s for sure.

Both my brothers Cameron and Jason represented Victoria as well. For me as a young pup I wanted to do what they had done.

It’s one of those things, you put the jumper on and you don’t want to take it off.

It’s the first memory I have of making a representative team as a junior athlete and it probably stuck with me the longest as I progressed through football.

Neil Balme

Travis Cloke balanced school and football.

Work experience with Balmy

I did work experience at Collingwood at 14 alongside the great Neil Balme. I was a little tacker and pretty much I used to hang out with Balmy and go to lunch with him. When training was on they used to send me out and I used to kick the footies back to all the players. That was work experience. And to be honest that was my first job anyway, playing a game of football.

He’s one hell of a nice man, Balmy. I’d met him a few times previous to that. To meet these people as a teenager was outstanding. Collingwood was still at Victoria Park at this stage. It was just cool to see the history of Vic Park. One day I’d love to see them go back there and run their VFL or women’s program out of there, to still have that history.

Pies or Tigers

There was definitely a choice for me to make between Collingwood and Richmond.

Purely because of the father-son rule. Dad (David) played a hundred games for both clubs, he was captain of Richmond and vice-captain of Collingwood. He had a tremendous career so to have both clubs wanting my services as a 17-year-old was great. The only reason I chose Collingwood over Richmond was that (my brothers) Jase and Cam were there already. Richmond were still down the bottom and Collingwood had just competed in the 2002 and ‘03 grand finals, they were really starting to develop.

Cloke in the 2010 grand final.

Travis Cloke with father David and brother Cameron.

Great junior coach

I went to Yarra Valley Grammar. I started there in Year 7 and when I was in Year 11 I got drafted. Mum and Dad were a huge part of my football journey as a junior and even as an adult, that’s kind of what they did for me.

My under 10s football coach was a Reverend, his name was Father Moggs, he was a Reverend at the local primary school, he coached me in under 10s, 11s and 12s. He was someone who taught me about values. At the time I didn’t think much of it. But now as an adult I look back at it and they’re the things I hold dearest, the values and standards.

He had an impact on me without even knowing it and now 20 years down the line I realise the impact.

Coach Cloke

I’m a mentor, I’m here to mentor boys and girls on field but also off field, learn from things I did on field, learn from mistakes I made off the field as well.

I don’t coach for the shiny lights or the pay packet, I’m doing it purely to help develop the next generation of superstars.