Football Star Paying it Forward With AFL SportsReady

Darwin’s Aaron Davey began his journey to the Australian Football League when he was just 2 years old. He said his goal to one day be drafted, is among some of his oldest memories.

‘The stories you hear, from everyone, even my Mum, I was just footy mad as a kid. I wanted to make it and make my Mum proud and I worked hard to do that,’ he said.

‘I look back now at the time and think, that might’ve been a bit unrealistic because I never thought I’d be living in Melbourne – I was living in Darwin, so I don’t know how it was all going to work. But, I was going to play AFL footy one day. And, I was very fortunate enough to do it,’ he explained.

Davey’s talent, commitment and resilience led him to a successful 10 year career playing for the Melbourne Football Club for an impressive 178 games.

‘To be able to run out there, onto the MCG on my first game, that was a really proud moment,’ he said, reminiscing. 

‘Over that 10 years, I also developed the passion to be able to give back and help people. More importantly, the less fortunate and give them a bit of direction in life. And hopefully they can take something out of my story, my advice and it helps them on their way.’

It’s these experiences and passion to help others flourish that saw the sporting star begin his post-football career with AFL SportsReady. He now focuses his time on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs, mentoring young trainees and guiding them to ensure they find their own professional paths.

‘It’s a great thing for myself to be a part of, we’ve got a great team here as well. Whether I can help them to play footy, or more importantly to help them with their education, career and even something small. (That) Makes me a very happy person.’

You can listen to Aaron’s interview on the Worthy Podcast. 
For more newsworthy stories from trustworthy sources, tune into Worthy Podcast on SoundCloud. 

DATE: 7 December, 2015
AUTHOR: Alexia Boland
IMAGE: Aaron Davey