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clontarfThe Herald Sun |
IT'S barely daylight on a Thursday and the frost lies heavy on the ground, but a group of young footballers are sweating their way through a training session on the oval at the Bairnsdale Secondary College.

The fact they're here, running, tackling, kicking in the freezing morning, is a minor miracle. It'd be easier to stay home and catch a few more hours sleep.

But what they'll do after this is even more important.

Because these boys — young men really — will then go to school.

They'll study — aiming for their VCE or VCAL qualifications. For some, just getting through the school year will be an achievement.

They'll learn respect, for themselves and others. They'll learn life skills, and how to apply for a job. And they'll learn to be role models for other young men and boys in their community.

And each day they turn up, these young people are a step closer to building a better life for themselves, improving their qualifications, and working towards a job.

This is the way of life at the Clontarf Academy at Bairnsdale, one of 57 academies across Australia which work to give indigenous children the opportunities that many other Australians take for granted.

Founded by former Fremantle coach Gerard Neesham in Perth in 2000, the Clontarf Foundation works with Koori children and their families.

Some come from supportive families, and thrive.

Others have been dealt a tough hand in life, and find school is a low priority.

In partnership with local schools, Clontarf works to bring up school attendance rates and set the boys on a positive path to employment.

The results are impressive. At Bairnsdale, some youngsters who were lucky to attend school once a week finished their time at Clontarf with a 100 per cent attendance rate.

One was accepted to university. Two have building apprenticeships.

Across Australia last year, 87 per cent of Clontarf leavers found jobs or went into further training. Another 50 alumni were placed into work by Clontarf staff.

By the end of next year, 500 Clontarf year 12 leavers will have found jobs.

Paul "Turk'' Carroll, the director of Clontarf at Bairnsdale, said it was a 24/7 calling.

A former butcher and boxing coach, he knew a lot of the children through his role coaching the Lindenow seniors in the East Gippsland League and knew they needed a helping hand.

"Back when I had the gym I used to get the hard-edged kids come to me, kids with anger issues, things like that,'' he said.

"A fair amount of them were Koori kids.''

Mr Carroll wanted a career change, and one where he could give back to the community. He took the Clontarf job when the academy opened in 2010, and hasn't looked back.

"Some of these kids have come from very hard backgrounds. What I've learned from them is that school was not a positive experience for a lot of indigenous people, that's what their parents found.''

Mr Carroll and operations officer, Brendan "Buzz'' Hart, coach them at footy, help with their studies, counsel them when they are in trouble, and help keep them calm, focused and engaged. Sometimes, they take them to their own family homes.

Each day, Mr Carroll does a sweep through the classrooms at Bairnsdale Secondary College. If he sees some of his Clontarf boys are not in class, he gets in the car and drives around to their home looking for them.

Through their local contacts, Mr Carroll and Mr Hart get the boys job interviews — East Gippsland Water has been hugely supportive — and follow up when the boys move towns, or leave their jobs.

"They're not all good stories,'' Mr Carroll concedes. "The (drug) ice now is a killer, it's out of control.

"There's a lot of work to be done.

"(But) when we get one of them into work, it's enormous. It brings tears to the eyes.''

The foundation is funded jointly by the federal and state governments, and private donors.

Mr Neesham said there were 2900 boys being mentored through Clontarf across Australia, and up to 6000 had been through the program since it started.

A federal government funding boost in the Budget of $13 million will help them fund another 3000 places for boys who need some help to find the right path.

"Part of our role is to find them a job. we don't finish with the boys when they finish school, we stay with them,'' Mr Neesham said.

"We're a permanent part of their lives.''

Mr Neesham said boys and young men from a range of backgrounds came through the academies — from metropolitan, urban boys to "very traditional Aboriginal kids'' from remote communities.

All were taught the same lessons: respect, discipline, focus, healthy living, being a role model.

"We've had quite functional kids to highly dysfunctional kids, some have had foetal alcohol syndrome, some have done it very hard,'' Mr Neesham said.

"What they end up doing is building a really positive relationship with positive male role models.''

Clontarf has turned out some AFL stars over the years — Mark Williams and Paddy Ryder among them — but Mr Neesham said sport was not the main focus.

Rather, it was the hook that drew the boys in and got them interested. In New South Wales, the boys focus on rugby league, while the southern states use Aussie Rules footy as an inducement.

Those with excellent attendance rates are rewarded with sporting goods, trips to the footy, and get to visit other academies in Alice Springs and Darwin.

"Our aim is to turn school into a very positive experience and have a very deep relationship with the kids,'' Mr Neesham said.

"The blokes who run (the academies) are rippers, I'm very comfortable in their abilities.''

Alan Tudge, parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister, and said the Budget boost would almost double the number of academies across Australia to 110.

"Clontarf has changed the lives of hundreds of young men, giving them discipline, support and direction,'' he said.

"It engages boys who would otherwise have dropped out of school and headed for the welfare queue.

"There are not many programs in the indigenous space that work. When we see one, we want to back it. The Clontarf academies are worth every dollar.''

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