Geelong Cricket Club coach Dylan Slater has flourished after concussion ended a promising junior footy career

A promising Geelong cricket coach is refusing to be bitter about a series of concussions which ended his footy career at age 15. Here is Dylan Slater’s story.

Footy’s loss has been cricket’s gain.

Former Colac junior star Dylan Slater says he has no bitterness looking back on a promising footy career which was cut short at the age of just 15 due to multiple concussions.

Slater received two concussions during the 2014 season, and a further two the following year, following pretty standard Aussie Rules collisions.

He would return for the 2015 finals to win the under-16 Division 1 flag, after taking a lengthy break during the season, but that was that and Slater would never lace up a footy boot again.

Those four concussions would largely shape the formative years of his life.

At his worst, Slater was spending months in bed, missing out on important milestones and events, like friends’ birthdays.

Yet walking away from football has allowed Slater to focus on other aspects of sport.

For the past three seasons, Slater has been heading north to Darwin to enhance his mentoring skills with NT Cricket as a community coach.

Geelong Cricket Club coach Dylan Slater. Picture: Brad Fleet

He has lent his increasing cricket IQ to the peak body’s Cricket 365 program, which includes the Strike League and Top End T20 series and has been a magnet for emerging first class talent for the past few years.

“Being around professional cricketers in an elite environment has been awesome,” Slater said.

“It’s hard in a way being so young, because you’re coaching cricketers that are older than you.

“Once you get that respect and that relationship with them, it’s great.”

Close to a decade after his footy career wrapped up, Slater admits it was a huge decision to make at such a young age, being a “footy nuffy” who was obsessed with every aspect of the game.

“The first couple of years that I didn’t play footy I really had to get away from it, because I missed it so much,” he said.

Dylan Slater's footy career ended at age 15 due to concussion. Picture: Dylan Slater.

“I used to be a footy nuffy, I used to watch every footy program, every game.”

However, his life had become one of mental management.

With something as simple as concentration becoming a trigger for concussion symptoms, he had to limit his mental application and screen time.

He said it was a mutual albeit heartbreaking decision to quit football, following discussions with specialists and his family.

“Looking back, it was the right decision to make, but that’s just how it is,” he said.

An attempt at a cricket pre-season for the 2015/16 summer only lasted a few weeks.

However, after a few seasons off, he returned to the game with City United in Colac, who were flexible and understanding.

“I played whenever I felt like it, whenever I felt somewhat healthy, and they were awesome,” he said.

However, problems persisted.

Slater found it hard to sleep after games and concentrate on other things in his life, especially school.

Slater has flourished in his new life as a cricket coach. Picture: Brad Fleet

“You can’t concentrate on anything, it’s hard to put into words,” he said.

“You spend so much energy concentrating on things, whether it’s in the classroom or watching a cricket ball.

“And especially being a batter as well, you’re trying to focus in on that ball … I struggled with that.

“You’re there and then all of a sudden you just zone out, (it’s) hard to hold conversations with people without zoning out.

“That was tough while I was trying to go through school as well. It was weird back then.”

Then, after switching to Victorian Premier club Geelong for the 2019/20 season, his preparations were curtailed by a head knock during a practice game.

“I dove, took a catch and got whiplash,” he said.

“I didn’t play a game before Christmas.

“I really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t worth it.

“It would take three or four days to recover (from a game), I couldn’t do anything at home, you could barely work.

Geelong cricketers (from left) Jordan Rossi, Jake Mundy, Dylan McMahon, Dylan Slater and Blake Troy won a B Grade premiership with Darwin. Picture: Darwin Cricket Club.

“When you squint you get all these concussion symptoms.

“After a game of cricket you can’t sleep because you’re too exhausted and your brain’s working overtime, I couldn’t hold conversations with people.”

He would return to play that 2019/20 summer and became the club’s Second XI captain, belting an 81-ball 84 against Greenvale in one fixture.

But Slater’s playing career has been sporadic ever since, despite taking the field with Darwin Cricket Club and helping the Eagles win B Grade premierships in 2021 and this year.

Playing the game has required precautions, though.

With squinting from the glare during games being a trigger, Slater would wear sunglasses while batting.

Today, Slater has a fresh perspective on the premature end to his footy career, and he’s refusing to look back with any bitterness.

He said education and awareness about concussion had come on in “leaps and bounds” since his playing days, too.

“Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing, I loved every bit of footy that I played,” he said.

“It just didn’t turn out.

“Overall, it’s a contact sport, I tried using helmets, that didn’t work.

“All the specialists that I saw back then were great, even the research now has gotten a whole lot better.”

Dylan Slater's footy career ended at age 15 due to concussion. Picture: Dylan Slater.

He said every concussion was different and it was hard to have uniform rules which suited every impacted player.

“I think we need to realise I might get hit in the head and I might need a month off,” he said.

“Whereas my teammate next to me might get the same impact, but he only needs a week off.

“Everyone’s different, which we need to accept, it’s a real grey area.”

He also doesn’t regret continuing to play with Colac despite the mounting concussions.

“It was my choice to play footy because I wanted to, and (winning a premiership in 2015) was probably the turning point that this was going to be my last year,” he said.

“To finish on a flag was really good.

“At the end of the day, you’re playing footy, you’re playing a contact sport, you’re going at your own risk.”

Originally published as Geelong Cricket Club coach Dylan Slater has flourished after concussion ended a promising junior footy career