Building better boys...
Is it just me or does everyone think a dose of reality is a good thing for a teenager?
There was a great yarn in the Sunshine Coast Daily at the weekend about Andrew Johns* and his dad Gary.
Andrew was raised in Cessnock, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. His dad was an underground coal miner, as was his grand father and his great grand father.
Neither Andrew Johns nor his older brother Matty were much chop at school (…big surprise there). They were good at footy – but not the best.
Gary Johns says when each of the boys was 15 he got special permission from the mine manager and took them underground.
He wanted the boys to understand that they lived in a mining community. Unless they worked very hard, unless they knuckled down at school or on the footy field, they would be expected to follow suit..
He says when took Andrew down in the dolly car they got to the tunnel mouth, about a kilometre underground and Andrew got a terrible fright. He says when Andrew saw how dark and dusty it was down there, he actually tried to jump out of the cage and had to be wrestled back inside.
Gary says the trip down the mine had a profound effect on both boys. He says there were probably young guys in Cessnock who were better players than Andrew and Matty – but they didn’t work as hard.
I love that story.
*For any overseas readers (and members of my family who are just not that into sport) Andrew Johns is an Australian Rugby League player, considered to be the best player ever to set foot on a rugby league field.
Country boy, done good. Retired last week as the highest points scorer in Australian first grade premiership history with 2,176 points. If that's not enough info...google him yourself!
There was a great yarn in the Sunshine Coast Daily at the weekend about Andrew Johns* and his dad Gary.
Andrew was raised in Cessnock, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. His dad was an underground coal miner, as was his grand father and his great grand father.
Neither Andrew Johns nor his older brother Matty were much chop at school (…big surprise there). They were good at footy – but not the best.
Gary Johns says when each of the boys was 15 he got special permission from the mine manager and took them underground.
He wanted the boys to understand that they lived in a mining community. Unless they worked very hard, unless they knuckled down at school or on the footy field, they would be expected to follow suit..
He says when took Andrew down in the dolly car they got to the tunnel mouth, about a kilometre underground and Andrew got a terrible fright. He says when Andrew saw how dark and dusty it was down there, he actually tried to jump out of the cage and had to be wrestled back inside.
Gary says the trip down the mine had a profound effect on both boys. He says there were probably young guys in Cessnock who were better players than Andrew and Matty – but they didn’t work as hard.
I love that story.
*For any overseas readers (and members of my family who are just not that into sport) Andrew Johns is an Australian Rugby League player, considered to be the best player ever to set foot on a rugby league field.
Country boy, done good. Retired last week as the highest points scorer in Australian first grade premiership history with 2,176 points. If that's not enough info...google him yourself!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home