I studied Law/Commerce at the University of Western Australia the year before I was drafted which was really good as it gives you a great insight to life outside of school and opens your eyes to somewhat of the real world. You are suddenly on your own as a seventeen year old and have to find your own feet.
It was important to be able to work out that balance between university and footy from that young age. I was able to gauge the right balance and now that I am in the system it is the same in terms of that time management but it is flipped around in terms of the amount of time I spend on each. In that first year it was Uni and then footy was the secondary but now it is very much footy as that is my job and university is a secondary.
The biggest thing being from Perth is that everything I have in Melbourne is football, everyone that you have a relationship with is effectively through football. University was a great opportunity to gain some relationships and friendships outside of football and also meet people with similar interests.
I am now heading into my third year of University over here and am currently doing one or two units depending on the load of the work. So the workload is nowhere near as big as what it was in that first year but I am still finding my course really enjoyable. Having that first year to know the workloads and knowing the requirements rather than being just thrown into it has made it easier and not as daunting.
I really feel it is not only a great outlet and way to meet people outside of football but it is setting myself up for a strong future once my AFL career is finished. The AFLPA effectively fund the course through a grant so it provides a great opportunity to not have that debt hanging over your head.
You are getting a degree, you are getting an opportunity to play footy and also I have the chance at the moment to find a work placement within the finance industry. This work placement is further enhancing my chances of employment beyond AFL and an important part of the transition from my course into the work force. There obviously is the long term plan that over these next few years you make relationships in the industry, finish your degree and set yourself up to be in a much better position than what you would be if you did nothing.
For now I better get back to studying, but if you have a topic you would like to hear send us a message on twitter via @Essendon_FC or send an email to tcolyer@essendonfc.com.au and I will be sure to try and cover it off throughout the season.
