Richmond defender Bachar Houli has continued his community work in the AFL off-season, running the inaugural Bachar Houli Academy for 20 Islamic students last week.

Houli ran the two-day camp as part of his role as a Multicultural Ambassador with the AFL.

The aim of the Academy is to introduce young people from diverse communities to the AFL, and create pathways for them to continue to develop their football.

Houli has used his experiences as a Muslim and AFL footballer to help the participants understand the level of commitment and sacrifice it takes to play AFL, or any sport at elite level. 

“We taught the kids some important lessons about teamwork and supporting your team mates on the field, and using their football smarts to work through different scenarios in game situations,” Houli said.

“Leadership was also a key element.  We really emphasised to the students that they are the next leaders.  I want them to understand the importance of being respectful people in the community, to set goals and work hard to achieve them.”

The Academy was packed with football drills, including fitness training, skills sessions, a weights circuit, game education, combine testing and recovery.

An AFL representative helped run the combine session, with participants experiencing the same tasks this year’s draft hopefuls will undertake.  The students performed drills such as the beep test, 20 metre sprint, agility and vertical leap. 

Houli was impressed by how respectful the students were, and how they embraced the opportunity to be part of the Academy.

“They were all quite shy to begin with, but they made an effort to speak up, step out of their comfort zone and get involved in all the drills and activities,” he said.

“The participants were of different ages, abilities and from different schools, but I have no doubt that many of them will stay in touch going forward,” Houli said.

The participants finished the Academy by attending the Australian premier of Fordson: Fasting Faith Football, a movie about the challenges of an American Football team whose players are predominantly Arab-American. 

For more information about Bachar Houli and his multicultural work, visit his website.