How rugby instilled focus and discipline on student's journey to the top
As a young kid with a lot of energy he wasn’t sure what to do with, rugby taught Chatswood’s St Pius X College student Niall Jaffrey important life skills about focus and chasing your goals. Improving his mental and physical well being, Niall couldn’t imagine life without footy.
Early days
When he was three years old, Niall’s parents moved their family back home from Ireland to Australia. As an energetic child, he remembers feeling a bit unsettled after making the move. Often not knowing what to do with himself he’d regularly get into mischief, annoying his parents and two older brothers.
Around this time Niall started taking notice of the game his brothers were playing in the backyard, and went out to join them for a kick around. It wasn’t long before he was at St. Ives Rugby Club in Sydney signing up to play.
The power of the game
Niall knew straight away playing rugby is what he wanted to be doing. It gave him a channel to focus his energy and learn discipline, teamwork and structure on and off the field. He’s made a great group of mates, and finds rugby is a great way to take his mind off the pressures of school and everyday life. 10 years and 200 matches later, the game has had a transformative effect on him and made him who he is today.Winning the Edstart Rugby Scholarship
Niall is one of the many talented players in this year's Edstart Rugby Scholarship Program, and is a great example of the power of grassroots rugby to help young people with important life skills. Run over the past four years, the Edstart Rugby Scholarship Program has been supporting junior players like Niall to develop their skills and foster their love for the game.
Winning the scholarship has been a boost to Niall’s confidence, and has given him extra motivation to take his skills to the next level. With a rugby ball shaped fire burning inside of him, there’s plenty to look forward to for Niall. His sights are set on playing at the top, travelling the world with the game he loves. We can’t wait to see where he goes.
About Edstart
Edstart is a leading technology and financial services company providing funding and payment services for education. We offer fee management solutions to schools and flexible payment plans to parents to help make school fees easier to manage.
To see how we can help you, visit our main website.
Find out more
Edstart is a leading technology and financial services company providing funding and payment services for education. We offer fee management solutions to schools and flexible payment plans to parents to help make school fees easier to manage.
To see how we can help you, visit our main website.
Find out more