Victory star Thomas Deng revisits fork in the road on visit to youth justice centre

A visit to Parkville Youth Justice Centre took on new meaning for Melbourne Victory star Tommy Deng when he spotted a childhood friend.

Thomas Deng outside the Parkville Youth Justice Centre.

WHEN Melbourne Victory star Tommy Deng walks into Parkville Youth Justice Centre, trepidation morphs into shock after spotting a childhood friend.

They were school mates less than 10 years ago.

“He recognised me straight away,” Deng recalled this week.

“I’ve known him since I was a kid in Adelaide, his family also moved to Melbourne.”

Deng, who had recently become the 598th player to represent the Socceroos, said he had visited the centre to share his story.

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He soon discovered that the familiar face was one of many, serving as a stark reminder of the fork in the road that many teenagers face.

“I knew their families or brothers or we grew up in the same area and some I even went to school with,’’ Deng told the Herald Sun.

“Some of them played soccer, some basketball. Lots of them still have aspirations to play and I said that’s one way to spend your time (focusing on sport).

“Just showing them no matter where you’re born or your background, you can still achieve many things.”

Thomas Deng outside the Parkville Youth Justice Centre.

Deng said he was initially wary of how the teenagers would react or how they would speak to him because he believed athletes were sometimes seen as not “caring for the community, or we’re too good”.

“They’re reserved at the start. For me, it’s special when they open up to you,” he said.

“If you sit down and speak to these boys they’re actually really genuine.

“They’re very young, made bad decisions, hang out with the wrong people, and they end up in the system, in Parkville and Malmsbury, for a long time for these mistakes.

“Just showing that you actually care about them can make a big difference. I have a bit of fun with the boys. They love seeing a different face.”

The assimilation challenges for African refugees are well documented, making Deng’s Socceroos feats celebrated — he was the 598th cap, while South Sudanese refugee Awer Mabil was No.597.

State league revelation and African refugee Kenny Athiu recently visited Parkville along with Deng and Victory teammate James Troisi and saw a younger cousin inside “he saw grow up” on a previous visit.

Thomas Deng at Victory training.

Deng, whose brother Peter teaches PE at Parkville, said one of challenges facing teens was the lack of a father figure.

Deng and his four siblings moved to Adelaide with their mother in 2003, while their father stayed behind in Kenya.

“Dad didn’t move here because he was a doctor, he used to fly around and saved children,’’ he said.

“Dad never visited Australia. We never saw him after we left and he died in 2007. I don’t really remember him.

“Just mum and five siblings came to Australia. It was a massive challenge, coming to a new country as a refugee, it helped having family in Adelaide, it made the transition easier.

“My mum’s English wasn’t bad — it’s got a lot better though.”

Thomas Deng (left) celebrates a goal with Socceroos teammate Awer Mabil.

Deng said other kids missed out on some of the basics that most of us have taken for granted.

“A lot of these homes the fathers aren’t really around much. They don’t have that connection with the kids,’’ Deng said.

“Generation wise and even back home, fathers never really sit down and speak to kids to see how they’re going, it’s more (superficial). It’s not like they take you to training, or be there for you.

“Sometimes the mother can’t do what the fathers can do and that’s when it can get out of hand and start hanging around with (bad influences) — they’re trying to get that family feeling.

“I’m lucky I’m the youngest of the family so I’ve got older brothers and an older sister, so they’re the ones that basically showed me the right way to go and to be wise and to choose your friends wisely.”

His family, which includes a half brother in Uganda whose schooling is subsidised by the Dengs, were proud when the youngster made history by pulling on the famous Socceroos shirt.

“They were all very happy. It was a massive achievement for me to make it at such a young age and from where we’ve come from. It’s very special,’’ he said.