Richmond has kicked off its Next Generation Academy pre-season program for 2018.

With newly appointed VFLW and Academy coach Tom Hunter overseeing the program, 21 participants were put through their paces at the Swinburne Centre last Saturday.

The participants, aged from 12 to 16 years old, come from a range of different cultural backgrounds - Indigenous, Sudanese, Filipino, Ethiopian, Tongan and South African.

The group travelled from regional Victoria towns within the Club’s NGA zone, including Mildura, Robinvale, Swan Hill, Bendigo, Charlton, Echuca and Shepparton.

Hunter said Richmond’s NGA program provided extensive opportunities for participants, including talent identification.

“We took them through skills, a training program and also a weights program to get them up to scratch, they did some recovery and also learnt about diet and healthy food choices…," Hunter said. 

“The benefit is that they get an opportunity to improve their football skills but also take what they’ve learnt from Richmond and apply (the skills) in a variety of areas – they could be life, they could be school…”

Richmond's NGA and VFLW coach Tom Hunter.

Derek Smith, a product of Richmond’s NGA, was recruited to the Club at November’s 2018 Rookie Draft.
Smith, 19, joined the Tigers NGA when the program launched in 2016.

A central element of the NGA program is around education, with a focus on football skills, strength and conditioning, recovery, nutrition and leadership.

Several of the Club’s NGA participants are also involved in the Korin Gamadji Institute’s Richmond Emerging Aboriginal Leadership (REAL) Program.

The REAL Program is aimed at developing leadership skills and confidence among 14 to 17 years old, each selected for being role models within their school or community.

The Club will further engage with its NGA participants next week, when 10 TAC Cup players attend a two-day program at the Swinburne Centre.