Legends of league reach out to Gympie teens
EARLY life adversity is the driving force behind former Broncos captain and current player Darius Boyd’s passion to help young people develop a healthy mindset.
Darius was joined today at Gympie State High School by former team-mate Matt Gillett and the two shared their stories of challenges they have had to overcome with about 150 students from Gympie High and James Nash State High.
Mr Boyd said he struggled to overcome feelings of depression and other negative emotions most of his life before admitting five years ago that he needed help.
“I never knew my father. In fact I don’t know who he is to this day,” he said.
He said his welfare fell to his grandmother, who he moved in with when he was a teenager.
This unconventional home life left him “feeling sorry for myself” and was just one of the contributing factors to making poor choices early on in his career.
But five years ago he made the decision to seek help and since then has made it his passion to impart the three lessons he has learned to help combat feelings of inadequacy, depression and grief - developing a support network, expressing gratitude and cultivating empathy.
The talk was well received by the students and followed up by a talk by Matt Gillett, who shared his gratitude towards the Broncos for helping him overcome the most recent challenge in his life when a shoulder injury forced his early retirement last year by providing this mentoring role.
Broncos Game Development Manager Paul Dyer also spoke at length about the importance of maintaining not just physical health but good mental health practises too.
“There’s the glamour of being a professional footy player, but there are negatives to that as well,” Mr Dyer said.
“Darius has had his struggles with that,” he said.
He also stressed the most important asset a person can possess is their health.
“My first piece of advice is to invest in your health - because if you don’t have your health it won’t matter if you have a big house or a beautiful wife or a fancy car.
“My second is to develop a personal brand and that starts with being a good person,” Mr Dyer said.
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