Hale boarder Scott Wilson (Year 11) was recently selected for the Under-18 Flying Boomerang AFL Football Team. Scott attended the AFL Qantas Kick Start football camp in July 2008, from which he was selected into the National Indigenous Under-18s football team, the Flying Boomerangs. Scott travelled to Papa New Guinea to represent Australia in an AFL leadership and talent program for indigenous teenagers. Scott has been boarding at Hale since the age of 12 on an Indigenous Youth Leadership Programme.
A total of 22 boys were selected from Australia and played two games against a PNG national side. Off field the boys went through a Certificate I in Indigenous Leadership, where they explored identity and culture. Chief Executive of the AFL Foundation Jason Mifsud said, “We see a boy like Scott as part of our next generation of indigenous leaders.”
At the end of the week-long tour Scott Wilson was awarded the Michael Long Medal by his team mates who voted according to respect, loyalty, humour, passion and pride. Scott said, “I am feeling good because the medal is a stepping stone to my success in leadership. I have benefitted heaps from this trip. Me and the boys have had the opportunity to talk up more and talk from inside. Our aboriginality is a huge thing and we are representing our culture and Australia”.
Hale School Headmaster Mr Stuart Meade said, “Scott has a significant profile at Hale School, both in the boarding house and in the wider school community. This award is recognition of his ability to influence those around him, and I know he will continue to make a very positive impression at Hale in the next two years.”
