Holy Eucharist Campus
One of the cornerstones of the Holy Eucharist program is giving our students a range of perspectives by learning from others. Last Wednesday we were lucky enough to hear from former Collingwood Premiership Captain Nick Maxwell who shared his varied journey to AFL success and life beyond football.
Nick faced several challenges in his pursuit to play AFL including being overlooked for local development squads and the AFL draft numerous times. Nick spoke of the importance of aiming high but also having a Plan B; in his case this meant undertaking university studies in Ballarat and working part time while pursuing a career in football. Nick asserted to students ‘if you’re not failing, you’re not aiming high enough’ and spoke very personally about the hurt he felt around just missing out on his dream for years.
His determination and resilience saw him eventually drafted to Collingwood and go on to not just perform on the field but also play a key role in their core leadership group. Nick declined to elaborate on his football playing days instead focussing on his life around football and the continuation in his life of ‘having a Plan B’. Today Nick helps create a positive organisational culture for a number of Melbourne based sporting teams and has gone on to do his Masters in Business Administration.
Nick offered some valuable insights into how a potential sportsman is viewed from every angle, advising our young men to think about the profile they establish for themselves in their own communities and online. He affirmed for our students that ‘you’re not responsible for everything that happens to you but you are responsible for how you respond’ and the examples he shared of his own journey in this regard had a lasting impact on our Year 9 group.
Ms Lauren Anderson
Year 9 Learning and Teaching Leader