Sydney’s First Nations Foundations program giving kids a place where they belong

The Swans have a long history of First Nations players wearing the red and white. But a new program to get more talent into their pathways has become a lifesaving one, writes LACHLAN McKIRDY.

With falling rates of Indigenous players in the AFL and AFLW, the Sydney Swans have launched a new “culture-first” program for First Nations kids in NSW. Picture: Sydney Swans

The Sydney Swans have been left stunned by the impact their First Nations Foundations program has had in Indigenous communities since being launched in 2022.

The new program was created to not only help First Nations kids into footy pathways, but to help foster a connection to local community and culture. And despite being only two years old, the program has already had incredible success.

Many Indigenous kids from around NSW have finally found a place where they belong, and Jarred Hodges, the Swans’ manager of First Nations strategy and player development, never thought the program would change lives this quickly.

He points to the example of a nine-year-old girl from Port Macquarie who he met at a cultural session last year. Her laugh lit up the room, but Hodges was left floored by a conversation he then went on to have with her parents.

“She was laughing like a kookaburra as nine-year-olds should,” Hodges recalled.

“Her mum came over crying and she goes, ‘Jarred, I don’t know what you guys are doing but can you keep doing it? That’s the first time we’ve heard our daughter laugh in six months’.”

The Swans’ new First Nations program has had 400 participants in the past two years. Picture: Sydney Swans/Supplied

For much of her childhood, the girl had been on the receiving end of racial taunts and attacks. She would ask her parents why she couldn’t change her skin colour, covering every mirror in the house because she didn’t want to look at herself.

It had even gotten to the point where she spoke about taking her own life.

The Foundations program genuinely became lifesaving as she made friends with kids who looked like her and no longer felt like she had anything to hide. This journey of self-discovery was so much more important than kicking a ball around.

“Nine years old, 10 now, it was horrible,” Hodges said.

“But that girl is flying 12 months on. Her mum and dad attribute the work of the coaches, the program, the support and space we’ve given her to immerse herself and be proud of who she is.

“When they run out in that field, they can see themselves. It’s pretty intimidating in any environment when you’re the only one, so for these kids to have that connection, to see themselves, it just takes anxiety away.

“They know, ‘I’m safe here’ and they can just get on with playing footy.”

While footy is central to the program, helping kids connect with their culture is the priority. Picture: Phil Hillyard

BEHIND THE FIRST NATIONS FOUNDATIONS PROGRAM

The Swans have been fortunate enough to have some of the best Indigenous players in history pull on the famous red and white, including Adam Goodes and Lance Franklin.

But like the rest of the competition, the club wanted to do more to ensure consistent First Nations talent was coming through their pathways.

Rates of Indigenous participation have consistently been falling across the AFL and AFLW for some years. The Swans found that of the 700 kids in their Academy, only seven had First Nations backgrounds in early 2022.

It was a problem the club wanted to address in a way that went far beyond just encouraging kids to pick up a Sherrin.

“Australian rules football has always been a great promoter of First Nations players,” Swans CEO Tom Harley said. “As a result, I think there’s a future duty to ensure that carries through.

“An unintended consequence of the Next Gen Academies, which has meant the whole of Australia has been divvied up for the other 14 clubs, excluding NSW and Queensland, it meant that our First Nations players, if they’re to be drafted to our club need to come through our Academy.”

In recent years, the Swans have been lucky enough to have some of the greatest First Nations players in history to pull on the red and white. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The First Nations Foundation was established as a “culture-first” program where kids are brought into a healthy environment and given the chance to thrive.

With five touchpoints created throughout the Swans’ Academy catchment area from Shellharbour to Coffs Harbour, more than 400 children have attended the various clinics since their inception.

Hodges and the club quickly became inundated with messages from the friends and family of participants about the value they provided.

“You can’t just do footy,” Hodges said.

“We use the program to connect because we also know that our First People, and youth in particular, are about five or six times higher in terms of suicide rates than mainstream Australia. We need to come in and drive this notion of connection and pride in who they are.

“We’ve created this space that is psychologically and culturally safe for kids to come in, enjoy themselves, develop and also express themselves.

“Ultimately, if you get a big enough base, the talent rises. Everyone has an opportunity to grow from it.”

Entrenching kids in their culture and giving them the space to belong has already made the program a success. Picture: Sydney Swans/Supplied

In less than two years, there has been an almost ten-fold increase in First Nations participants in the Swans’ Academy. There are now 62 boys and girls representing the club across the state, and also at varying levels of representative footy.

The program has also prioritised the involvement of senior members of the First Nations community who have a better understanding of the localised issues kids face. “They’re the heroes,” according to Hodges, and the club is equally as focused on helping them transition into coaching, management or medical roles.

“Coaching is really important,” Harley said. “The number of First Nations coaches in the competition is not representative of the number of players in the competition.

“I think that’s something as an industry we’ve got to look at. What can we do to control that and that is providing pathways for coaches.”

The program has been an out-and-out success for the club, highlighted by the 96 per cent re-enrolment levels and Hodges’s phone constantly buzzing with WhatsApp messages from grateful parents.

The number of First Nations kid in the Sydney Swans Academy has grown from seven to 62 in the past two years. Picture: Sydney Swans/Supplied

However, the final step is ensuring it becomes a long-term pathway for talent to progress to the elite level.

“This program being holistic in its nature includes everyone and allows everyone to feel that notion of accepted and then that allows infinite growth,” Hodges said.

“Then the tip of the iceberg I guess of being identified and then being selected and encouraged to move into the Swans pathway.

“We’ve got an opportunity through the system and the Academy to grow our own talent as we can see with Isaac and Errol. Wouldn’t it be great to find the next Buddy in our own backyard?

“But first and foremost at the community level, it’s developing young people to be proud of who they are so they can walk in the two worlds with confidence and pursue their dreams and aspirations.”

Originally published as Sydney’s First Nations Foundations program giving kids a place where they belong