If you would have asked me a few years ago what my favorite sport was, I could guarantee that gridiron would not be the answer. In the year of 2020, I was introduced to the game of gridiron where I learned to expand on my knowledge and skills as an athlete. Coming from numerous sporting backgrounds, I took a liking to gridiron straight away and once I started playing, my focus has solely been on succeeding in the sport
I was born on the 30th of April 2000 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea where I lived with my family until the age of 7. Then in 2007 my dad was given a job opportunity in Australia where we eventually moved to Cairns, Far North Queensland. There was a lot more opportunities for young people in Australia to progress through their sporting commitments whilst achieving their educational goals. At the age of 10 I expressed my interest in playing sports to my parents, however their plans were to mainly focus on my education. This was quite upsetting for me, because I wanted to fit in with the kids of my age group but also at the time, I was unable to understand the financial strain it would have on my family. So, my priority was my schooling and maintaining excellent grades until I was finally given the opportunity to join the South Cairns Cutters AFL team in 2012. Throughout the years I have been privileged to take part in school-based Volleyball, Club Basketball, AFL, and Rugby (League/Union) competitions. Whilst participating in these sports, I developed skills and with time, learned to refine them. répliques de montres,replica Watches,replica watches uk.Playing
these sports allowed me to be recognized by Brendon Kruger (nickname B.K), a member of the Cairns Falcons Gridiron team. B.K encouraged me to experience the world of gridiron which not long after spiked my interest in the sport. After a few training sessions with the Falcons, I decided to join the team and kick-start my gridiron journey.
My first season with the Falcons led me to the 2021 Reef Bowl, where the team was victorious in winning their first ever gridiron championship against the Townsville Cyclones. The highlight of the game for me was, successfully receiving a 60-yard pass from B.K and making my second touchdown of the season. I gained a lot of experience and confidence during my time with the Falcons, and it motivated me to advance into my next season where I then joined the Mulgrave Vikings.
My season with the Mulgrave Vikings was very different in comparison to my last season. As a new team in the gridiron league, we had a lot of aspects we needed to work on to help build chemistry within the team. For the entirety of the season the Vikings remained at the bottom of the ladder, which created a very tense atmosphere within the team. I found it extremely difficult to maintain a positive mindset but, I learned to persevere and with the encouragement of my coach and B.K and we began working on our team for the next season. After the season ended, I was privileged to be selected for the North Queensland Mud Crabs Representative Team of 2022, North Queensland’s first ever rep side. We had the opportunity to travel down to Airlie Beach to compete against the Central Queensland Representative Team (Outlaws) which resulted in a 32 – 06 victory for the Mud Crabs.
In May of 2022, myself along with B.K were invited by the Coach and founder of Academy 49, Lance Tongakilo (nickname L.T), to attend the National Flag Football tournament in Coff’s Harbour to represent The Academy 49 Team. The Academy is a sports development program specialized in gridiron. Their goal is to grow the community through developing Athletes, Coaches and Clubs around Oceania and The Pacific. Coach Lance’s vision for the Academy 49 is to work with more players, coaches and clubs around Australia and New Zealand to help them reach their full potential and own goals. The Academy competed against 7 opposing teams from Melbourne, Gold Coast and Brisbane. My team was undefeated for all 7 of our games, which guaranteed us the very first National Championship title in Australia. Winning the National Championship has been one of my greatest achievements as an athlete and I look forward to creating more experiences like this. Receiving help from coach L.T and assistant members of the team, I feel that I have gained great knowledge and discipline that has changed my perspective towards gridiron. I have a respect for the sport and how much of an impact it has had on my life, and I can only encourage more people out there to give it a go.
Gridiron is more than just a game to me, it’s life. As a developing athlete I aim to inspire my peers. Every time I go out on the field, I remind myself that am not only representing my team and family but I’m also representing my country and where I am from. I believe that if you put your mind to something you really want, you can achieve anything. I want to continue training with Academy 49 to reach my goals of competing gridiron at an international level but it all comes down to commitment and hard work. I intend on showcasing my talent and putting in 110% at every chance I get. My name is Jorden Vali and this is only the beginning.