Meet Ange, who spends his weekends as an integral part of Richmond’s Wheelchair Football Program.
Like many others, Ange was unsure of his pathways post Year 12 until he came across Richmond Institute’s dual diploma with his school careers counsellor.
Drafted in 2019 to Essendon, Ange is currently in his fourth season as a Wheelchair athlete.
After a season in the Red and Black, Ange was contacted at the start of 2020, by the reigning premiers Richmond, telling him that he had been traded.
Ange would now be representing the club that he has grown up loving and supporting.
As part of Ange’s placement with Richmond Institute, he is combining his playing duties with Assistant coaching of Richmond’s Wheelchair Development squad, assisting with the tactics and structure of the side on game day.
Ange credits the course for instilling a newfound confidence within him, in order to now be able to coach and communicate with influence.
The Development Side are currently undefeated, earning automatic promotion to the Grand Final by virtue of being Minor Premiers, a feat that Ange is incredibly proud of.
As for Ange’s season as a player, the young superstar has been a large part of why the Senior side is sitting on top of the ladder with two games to go.
However, Ange has become somewhat TikTok famous in recent months, after footage of a Shai Bolton-esque candy sell went viral.
“I certainly milked that, Ange laughs.
“It was rude not to really!”
Back to life at Richmond Institute, Ange is appreciative beyond measure for the help and support he receives from teachers.
“They’re always so willing to help, and their feedback is really valuable” he said.
On top of that, Ange credits the social nature of the course with improving his confidence and helping him to create a raft of new connections and friends.
For someone growing up with a disability, Ange had minimal idea of pathways he could take post-schooling.
However, Richmond Institute has allowed him to open doors and create meaningful pathways, in which Ange believes will help him make a strong difference in the near future.
“Prior to starting the course, I had no exposure to strength & conditioning training, but now, not only have I increased my knowledge in the area massively, I can now see it as a pathway to take in order to help others like me”.
One of Ange’s proudest moments this year was being given the opportunity to speak about Wheelchair Football in front of the whole Richmond Institute cohort, alongside a couple of his teammates.
“That was awesome and I was really proud of the fact that I could get up in front of a group of people and have them interested in my sport.”
Ange also speaks highly of the connections that filter down throughout the entirety of the Richmond Football Club.
Earlier this season, a group of Richmond’s AFLW stars made their way down to MSAC to watch the team, complete with homemade signs.
“Having that connection to the entire club is special. The fact that Richmond players not only know who we are but took time out of their weekend to come and support us, with personalised signs for each of us was surreal,”
“It all starts to sink in that I represent an AFL club.”
Short-term, Ange wants success in his football career however it’s long-term that he believes he can make the largest impact.
“I want more teams in the competition, more advertising and promotion – I want us to be recognised as athletes and to be paid for it,”
“I’m willing to do anything to make sure that happens.”
Go Well Ange!
This article was written by Andrew, a current Diploma of Sport/Diploma of Leadership and Management (SIS50321/BSB50420) student studying in collaboration with Swinburne University of Technology and the Richmond Football Club.
