Tuesday 6 August marked the Hawthorn Football Club’s official launch of our Melbourne Kokoda Challenge Youth Program.
Eleven eager, excited and nervous 15-17 year olds piled into the lecture theatre at the Hawthorn Football Club accompanied by their leaders, parents and invited Hawthorn employees.
A familiar reiteration between speakers on the Spirit of Kokoda, including the prominence of the four pillars stationed around the training facility - a constant reminder as to what this journey is really all about.
Courage, Endurance, Mateship and Sacrifice communicated through compared experiences and insights as to what the next 14 months looks like. Combine the values with hard work, dedication and desire to achieve something extraordinary and you have the foundations of what our Kokoda Kids are looking for when they press the submit button on their application form.
The Hawthorn Football Club partnership will see the Kokoda Kids undertake a training session at the Hawks training facility once a fortnight with a strength and conditioning coach, to not only get them ready for the Melbourne Kokoda Challenge in October but for their Papua New Guinea trip in November.
To mark the significance of the launch, Kokoda Kids and their leaders were presented with training jerseys to wear when at the facility - time for a wardrobe change!
Gold and grey start to fill the room and then it became very apparent.
It’s official, two organisations with a united purpose have come together to help make a difference to the lives of local teenagers.
The magic has begun.
