One Highlands rugby club is betting on their future, and it's paying off in more ways then one.
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The Mittagong Lions Youth team's completed their youth solutions seminars at Mittagong RSL, which educated their young players on aspects outside of the game.
Mittagong Lion's secretary Billy Hayward said it's a long term investment in their youth.
Photos: Sports gallery for June 29-30
"We launched these pathways at the start of the season," Hayward said.
"It's about education off the field. There's a lot of diversities and pressures in life these kids will have to face. We want to help them make the right choices.
"We spoke about relationships, mental health, drug and alcohol and sex education. This will hopefully help them make a positive decision.
"The kids were also shown first aid training. If someone needs CPR they were taught the best way to go about it and the steps to take to get the best result."
The cubs of the club weren't just talked to about these problems, they were given helpful tips on who to reach out to.
"We told the kids about Headspace and Beyond Blue," Hayward said.
"They were educated on drink spiking and narcotics in clubs and pubs. It's great that most were aware of these things. We weren't sure if they had already been taught about these things in school. Some schools teach it, some don't.
"We wanted to be proactive about it and I think all of them walked out the room much wiser and smarter young people."
This isn't the end of the road for these exceptional education experiences for these young lions. The club will continue to teach.
"We'll be teaching on field stuff next," Hayward said.
"We'll talk about the nutrition side of sports, how to keep their bodies in shape and making choices of what they put in their bodies. That will translate into the off-season when they have to keep in shape.
"We'll also be looking to get the kids training with the seniors for a bit of high level fitness. They'll learn about professionalism, turning up to events and games on time. They'll also have a game day experience with the seniors vs Picton later in the season.
"When they get a taste of this, they want to continue with the club and really play for the jersey. This is a pathway, it's a stepping stone. Not a one or two year plan, it's a three to five year plan with these kids.
"The kids that are 15-16 are role models to these younger ones. If the younger ones see them in a pathways polo shirt, or being positive on social media they want to do the same thing. We want to keep that going and we can't do it without our excellent sponsors."
We wanted to be proactive about it and I think all of them walked out the room much wiser and smarter young people
- Mittagong Lions Secretary Billy Hayward
One of the sponsors for the Lions put it's money where it's mouth is and stepped up in a big way for the club on the night also.
"A lot of sponsors like to know where their money is going," Hayward said.
"I think in the last six to eight months our club has shown where it's going and how we've invested. It's now getting results on the field from it.
"Mittagong RSL donated $5000 and it's going to help the club out massively. These educational courses we run do cost money. These types of donations give us opportunities to look at other avenues to continue educating our players.
"Without that funding we wouldn't have these opportunities and we're extremely grateful to have such great sponsors."