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Heppell in India - Day Six

Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Staff writers for essendonfc.com.au
Page 1 of 1

Essendon young gun Dyson Heppell recently returned from a trip to India as a part of the Red Dust Role Model Tour. Over the next week, you can follow his incredible journey via a daily diary from his life changing trip to the sub-continent.

Dyson’s diary:

"The seven day trip to India was an incredible experience. On our travels we saw many weird & wonderful things, amazing places and cultural experiences. We also witnessed first-hand the very real challenges faced by a third world country...”

Day Six – Wednesday 12^th October

“Today was the last day of formal Red Dust activities and one of the most memorable. The first half of the day was running activities back at DY Patel Stadium.

Will and I took the AFL activity and really ‘upped the ante’ with the groups. They enjoyed kicking, handballing, marking and bouncing drills. They also really enjoyed learning how to tackle. We finished off with a game of British bulldogs and the entire group got right into it laying some tackles that would have made even Heath Hocking proud.

The day was another absolute scorcher. 35 plus degrees and 90 per cent humidity in the shade. After lunch we took a group in the pool - many of whom could not swim unaided. This turned into an impromptu swim class for the youth. It was a great experience and I really appreciated being in the pool myself in that scorching heat.

During the afternoon we made an impromptu visit to a large slum on the outskirts of Mumbai to play cricket with the local children. We set up stumps and began playing cricket and soon enough we had an enormous crowd. The local children played with gusto, enjoying the opportunity to play some sport with real equipment.

There were some real express bowlers and every batsman wants to be the next Sachin Tendulkar. Again, we were welcomed by the local community who are living such trying conditions. What an amazing experience. At the end we left behind all the sporting equipment for the children to use in the future and headed for our hotel.

Once we got back to the hotel we did another gym session, followed by a spa, sauna and plunge pool. This was a great way to finish our time in Mumbai.”

Click here to purchase your case of the limited edition Dyson Heppell commemorative wine.

PLAYER PROFILE: Dyson Heppell

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First of all, well done Dyson for doing some great work......NOW i must vent..ESSENDON INSIDER,1.Can we PLEASE update the Website ie new KIA sponsor,exit samsung 2.When is the 2012 membership being released? AND 3.Im really not happy,along with a bunch of others with 1 BOMBER mag in April and 1 in Dec. Just think its pathetic we once got 4 a year and enjoyed the club updates/articles during the year.Sick of seeing that B&W team all year round in my local newsagents,hell,even the cash strapped dogs get 4 a year...Thank You..Go Mighty Bombers in 2012.

- Matthew Munro (posted 26/10/2011 6:25:46 AM)

Dyson thank you for the "diary" it's been good to read of your experiences. Definitely would effect your attitude I imagine. It's a good thing to discover how resilient human nature can be. It's very much about attitude & the way we view the world & each other. Again thank you for your writings. Gail

- Gail Taylor (posted 26/10/2011 10:35:25 AM)