A NEW Western Bulldogs program is training young people in Melbourne’s western suburbs to be leaders.
The Whitten Project will give 40 boys and girls from diverse communities the chance to develop leadership skills by working closely with the club’s leadership team.
Launched last week in an AFL first, the project involves the club partnering with Brimbank, Maribyrnong, Hobsons May, Moonee Valley and Melton councils as well as the AFL, SportsWest and state government.
Forty year 9 and 10 students were nominated by the councils for showing leadership in their communities. Bulldogs chief executive Simon Garlick said the project showed the power of football to extend beyond the playing field.
It was fitting the project was named after club legend Ted Whitten, who played a record 321 VFL games for Footscray, he said.
The project squad will take part in an eight-month program that will include mentoring, leadership sessions with coaches and skills clinics with players.
Each young leader will also complete a community leadership project in partnership with their council.
