For one 13-year-old boy the RISE Rugby League development program has been life-altering.
Diesel Attkins played a bit of basketball socially, but his autism proved a hurdle for him when it came to competitive sport.
He’s a mad Brisbane Broncos fan, who shines a light for winger Selwyn Cobbo.
“He’s my favourite player,” Diesel told nswrl.com.au
Things changed for him, when a RISE Academy coach Jeremy Brauer, came to speak to group of Under 13s at Muswellbrook from the NSWRL’s Group 21 competition in the Hunter Valley.
“I just love playing with my mates,” Diesel said.
His mother Felicity went online to find out more details of the program initially started by the NRL before the NSWRL and QRL started rolling it out through their individual districts.
“It has improved his confidence on and off the field,” Felicity said.
“He has an anxiety disorder with his autism, so he doubts himself on the best of days.
“That combined with the age that he’s at – those early teenage years – meant he really needed a different approach to being introduced to the physical side of football.
“Off the field, the mateship that has come with all this has changed the game up for him, so to speak.
“I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the program. My daughter asked me if she could do it next year.”
The RISE program is for girls and boys. Harvey Norman NSW Sky Blues coach Kylie Hilder manages the RISE Rookie program for girls 17 years and over – younger female age groups are in the regular RISE program.
Brauer said Diesel completed four sessions, held monthly, from May through to September.
The first session is a parent/player introduction about the values and aims of the program, before participants are put through a ‘prepare to play’ drills, some further strength-conditioning testing and finally some basic Rugby League skills.
“For most of the kids it was their first time of doing anything like that so it gave them some exposure to all that’s involved in being a Rugby League player,” Brauer said.
“Part of the program is also about mental health and wellbeing – Life-Fit - so we give them some online learning to do for a couple of weeks before the next field session.
“We also teach them about social media, while developing other grit and resilience techniques. We want personal growth as well as physical.”
Diesel’s input proved the value of the RISE program for all levels- of players, Brauer said.
“With a program like RISE it doesn’t discriminate,” he said.
“It’s not only for the top five per cent of the best - it’s for anyone to get exposure to the game and get extra development to both learn how to be a better Rugby League player and a better person off the field.
“That’s what I enjoy most about seeing the kids that come through the program. I see the benefits it can do.”
The NSWRL’s RISE Academy Manager is former NRL Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs hooker Adam Perry, with almost 580 kids from 17 different locations registered for sessions this year. There are plans to increase those numbers in 2023.
“It brings kids from different teams and towns together to do something they love,” Perry said.
“They get to meet new people, improve their footy skills and hopefully learn some lessons they can carry throughout life.”
