Former Gold Coast and Western Bulldogs defender Jarrod Harbrow is taking his "passion" for mentoring the next generation of First Nations young men and women to the next level, launching the First Nations Sports Academy.
Located on the Gold Coast, Harbrow recognised the need to support emerging First Nations athletes through their formative years (14 to 24) in the pursuit of their dreams of becoming professional athletes.
"I identified a need, particularly on the Gold Coast, for young First Nations male and female athletes who need a bit more wrap-around support to help them get to the next level in their chosen sport," Harbrow told Zero Hanger.
Harbrow left Cairns to pursue AFL football and understands the difficulty of relocating and the struggles of making it to the elite level.
He was drafted by the Bulldogs in the 2007 Rookie Draft, leaving all his close friends and family.
But when developing into a young man, Harbrow would've benefited from being in an academy to upskill himself away from football, which is what he is doing with the next generation.
"I would have liked to have been able to be a part of an academy to help when it comes to upskilling myself, professionalism, education, fast-tracking my development, everything I needed off field," he said.
"I left Cairns to go down to Victoria when I was 15, 16. We've come a long, long way now. Like especially for the NGAs and the academies that are in place. I think they already do a great job with being able to provide these types of services these days. I suppose just back when I was starting, there probably wasn't too much around.
"I designed this program for 14-to 24-year-old male and female athletes. It's not that semi-professional. It's not the elite level. It's underneath that of those athletes from any sport who could really do with a bit more support to try and help them get to the next level.
"This is just a passion project, really. This is just something that I've identified over a number of years, and I've seen a lot of talented kids come through. But then we all know they're talented, but there's so much more that goes on inside their personal lives and other challenges that they face that, for whatever reason, just aren't able to continue down that pathway and heading in sort of the right direction, and then they drop off; their aspirations are done."
The role of the First Nations Sports Academy isn't to necessarily improve players' on-field performances, but to assist with creating a stable life outside of sport.
"We've made it pretty clear that we don't help with any selection, or we're not going to help with their on-field coaching because that's what their coaches in their chosen sport are there for. So I've got some other really key people in their own profession, such as career counsellors, strength and conditioning coaches, dietitians, sports nutritionists, and financial advisors," Harbrow explained.
"Player agent education, so managers. If you're progressing through the ranks pretty well, managers will be knocking on your door and ringing up to see if you might be someone they might sign with their management company. So just basic education around if an agent does contact you, what can you say?
"And just life skills, and so basically everything that I felt was important for me growing up and being in the AFL system. I've connected with key stakeholders and key professionals to be able to be there and help the facilitators and guest speakers when we do run our workshops throughout this academy."
The academy will take on 10 to 12 athletes to work in a 12-month program. They'll meet once or twice a month, run workshops, and have guest speakers to continue building the network of support around those within the group.
Harbrow still holds a prominent role at the Gold Coast Suns as the Indigenous Programs Coordinator, working closely with the First Nations players at the club.
He played 264 AFL games for the Bulldogs and Suns over a 15-year career. He retired at the end of 2021.
Harbrow was a part of the Gold Coast inaugural team and won the club's best and fairest in 2018.
