The Roar
The Roar

AFL
Advertisement

The journey begins for Dae Szydlik

18th August, 2014
Advertisement
Aspiring AFL footballer Dae Szydlik.
Expert
18th August, 2014
8
9087 Reads

On the surface, Dae Szydlik is just like every other sports-loving 14-year-old boy.

Like thousands of Aussie children before him, he plays cricket in the summer and footy in the winter. He kicks a ball around with his mates at recess and lunchtime at school and lines up for his junior club each weekend.

He barracks for Collingwood and dreams of playing in the AFL. There’s nothing unusual about that. But unlike most of the other teenage dreamers, he is well on the way to achieving his goals.

Not that you would know it speaking to the modest youngster.

“I’ve never been number one in my team,” Dae says quietly in his understated way, “but last year I was second in the best and fairest.”

Digging deeper we find that he has been second in the best and fairest ‘a couple of times’ and that his name appears on the team sheets of various league and representative games, including this year’s NAB AFL under-16 national championship.

That’s not a bad start to any aspiring footballer’s career.

Of course many others have achieved similar recognition for their efforts, and they too should be fated for their devotion to the game, but for Dae, the reward carries even further significance.

Advertisement

You see, we forgot to mention that Dae was born in South Korea.

Adopted and brought to Australia at just five months old, the pacey back flanker/midfielder has been proving himself on the footy field almost ever since. His natural ability was certainly evident early.

His mum Karen vividly remembers watching a small and nimble Dae running up and down the school oval with the older boys, tracking the ball and taking marks as if he had been born to it.

Dae concurs. “I started playing at a young age, like prep maybe when I was five or six A lot of school mates were playing it so I just thought I would have a kick and I have loved it ever since.”

It is a love that has blossomed and led to some truly great experiences, such as being made captain of the Victorian All Nations team earlier this year. The team was coached by David Rodan and swept all before it to win the Indigenous and Multicultural national championship in Coffs Harbour. Dae featured prominently.

But trumping even that major achievement was his inclusion in the World Team for last month’s NAB AFL under 16 national championships which were held on Queensland’s sunny Gold Coast.

For those who don’t know, the World Team plays in division three of the championships and is made up of players who were born overseas. This year’s team, coached by former Carlton champion Anthony Koutoufides, was stacked with Africans, including two flown in especially from South Africa’s developing AFL scene. Not surprisingly Dae was South Korea’s sole representative.

Advertisement

But far from being isolated, Dae has come away from the competition with a wealth of positive experiences and a team full of new mates.

“Everyone sort of clicked,” reflects Dae. “We had met a lot of the boys at the tournament before (in Coffs Harbour) so we had already made some friends there. I already knew the Vic boys and a couple of the boys from WA. There were two African boys who flew over from South Africa just for the tournament. Everyone was really nice to them and they were nice back. So it worked out perfectly.”

Success wise, the team struggled. Despite being the reining division three title holder, they lost their crown to the fleet-of-foot boys from north west Western Australia.

While the quality of the teams in division three lacked the depth of those competing at the higher levels, they were certainly the most exotic, with the Flying Boomerangs representing indigenous Australia and the South Pacific providing opportunities for those hailing from the islands.

But for these boys, the carnival was not all about winning or losing. It was about learning and making the most of opportunities.

“It’s been a great experience. I obviously love footy and I’ve got to meet so many new people, people that have already played footy like David Rodan and Anthony Koutoufides. Just meeting David and Kouta has helped me so much. I learnt so much from them,” says Dae.

It is a mantra that is repeated throughout the interview. Dae’s admiration for Rodan and Koutoufides spills over, leaving little doubt that the young man is more than a little awestruck.

Advertisement

“I was over the moon (to be selected in the team),” he enthuses. “I couldn’t wait to get away and meet Kouta. I was just so excited to see him because he was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame and, yeah, I was just really happy.”

But for Dae, it was more than just a chance to meet his heroes. It was a unique opportunity to learn from those who have already achieved the dream of playing AFL football.

“David and Anthony have obviously gone through the pathways,” Dae continues. “They just told me so much; how to handle yourself and how you have to be so professional if you want to get to that next level. It’s not all about talent and you really have to work hard. If you don’t work hard you’re not going to get anywhere.”

Dae’s mum was equally impressed with the whole program.

“I think that it has just been an amazing experience for him, to have been exposed to those mentors in the field, in something that he just adores. An amazing experience for a young man who is only 14.”

Dae turns 15 in September, having spent all bar the first five months of his life in Australia. Despite his birthplace, he is as Aussie as Weet-Bix and toast for breakfast. And yet a small minded minority continue to have trouble accepting football’s ever increasing gene pool.

While Dae himself denies that he has been racially vilified on the field, his mother disagrees. She is aware of at least one incident a couple of years ago that was reported by a team mate. And while it shouldn’t happen, it is something that Karen says they have prepared for.

Advertisement

“The fact that he is adopted and from another culture means that we have been prepared for stuff happening in his life, whether it was at school or on the footy field or where ever. I think it is really important for him to know what to do in those instances. What I’ve tried to do is give him some skills and language to try and deal with it. But I think he deals with it really well. I think he ignores it mostly.”

Those last two sentences fit an impression of Dae that builds though out our interview – that he is a young man with a quiet determination and no fuss approach to achieving his goals. It is also the way he goes about his football.

His mum says that he is more a team player than a ‘showy’ one; more Tyson Goldsack than Scott Pendlebury if you like, while his profile for the World Team describes him as having fantastic awareness in congestion and very good skills on both sides of the body.

So what is the next step for Dae?

“Ultimately I’d like to just get to the AFL,’ he says without hesitation. “That would be the end goal. Next year it’s the Sandringham Dragons, I’d love to be a part of that and make that team.”

The path is clear in his eyes and he has the right mix of positive attitude, work ethic and inspiration to travel along it.

He also has the skill.

Advertisement

Dae Szydlik. Remember the name.

close