Jacob Daniels’ connection to volunteers started “as a youngster” when his family joined a local Surf Life Saving Club.
His parents were also a big influence and would volunteer their time at different sporting clubs – “especially with junior rugby league, where my father was actually a coach for our team and Mum would be in the canteen or washing the team jerseys”.
Their commitment to volunteering was a motivator for me to bring sport to my own children, as my parents had done for me and my siblings, which in turn led to coaching in our small remote community when I saw for myself the amount of talent at the local school athletics carnival and then the district carnival,” he told EducationDaily.
“From there I guess you could say I’ve fed of the kids’ enthusiasm, and it’s reignited my own love for sports again.”
As President of the NSW-based Normanton Athletics Club, Mr Daniels coaches and runs the local athletics club – not only in Normanton, but also in the towns of Karumba (75km away) on a weekly basis, as well as the towns of Georgetown (300km away) and Mt Surprise (390km away) as close to fortnightly
as possible.
It’s a commitment that can see him travel 2,200km, at his own expense, to volunteer his time coaching kids in athletics. To add those duties, he also fund-raises, drives kids to club and state level competitions (usually over 600km away) as well as taking a small group to two national championships in Brisbane (+2,000km) and Adelaide (2,200km).
Mr Daniels says he feel it’s important to volunteer – “even if it’s just an hour a week, at things that you love or even at not-for-profit organisations (like grassroots sport clubs), as you never realise the extent of that help does for not only yourself but for those around you as well.”
For yourself, he told EducationDaily, “you will find it’s a great way to make social connections and can be a bit of a stress reliever if you are worried about something – and a way of building new skills”.
“For organisations, you are helping them raise more funds, which, in turn gets passed onto the participants or environmental activities – depending on what you are doing. For others, you’re sharing the workload to achieve the goal of what you’re doing. You may also be helping others without realising it by just talking to them and showing up regularly.”
“Sport is about being equal”
His inspiration to volunteer with disadvantaged youth is driven by his belief that “sport is about being equal – no matter who you are or background your from”.
“Because of the efforts the kids are wanting to put into their own training and abilities is what inspires me to want to try give them every opportunity possible to build themselves and develop their careers,” Mr Daniels says.
“As for Indigenous youth, the amount of talent at a base level is outstanding and they just love their sports as well. Most just need to refine their skills and help with their training to push forward. A big concern is building their own confidence to perform in front of strangers. Many are afraid at times and get nervous about failure, so it’s about working through it with them one step at a time and building that confidence up.”
Working with kids in remote areas presents unique challenges, with vast distances to travel incurring additional costs related to petrol, accommodation and food – on top of the expenses connected to equipment, uniform requirements and registration fees.
“Team sports are even harder, as you then need to rely on everyone attending and face disappointment in maybe having to forfeit if not enough people turn up,” he says.
“For volunteers, it makes it harder as you may be short on available people as most are busy with their own businesses or work, so trying to find time to include everyone can be hard as well.”
His focus on inclusivity is motivated by his understanding of how important physical activity is “to keep ourselves healthy and to burn that excess energy so that we can sleep well”.
“With sport, it keeps everyone included and builds a sense of pride with each other, this in turn also lowers the chances of youth walking down the wrong path towards crime and/or using abusive substances that can affect their health.”
More volunteers are needed
For people considering sharing their own time and expertise as a volunteer in kids’ community sport, Mr Daniels has one clear message: “Do it!”
“Find something that you love doing and see if there is a local group nearby that you could meet up with. If you’re a parent, it’s a great way to get closer to the action of watching your own kid – but you will create long lasting memories with them and also maybe give the chance of helping another parent get the same with their own child,” he told EducationDaily.
“I feel good knowing that I may just have set someone on a bright path to the future.”
Reflecting on honours from the remote and regional community he serves – including winning the 2022 Chemist Warehouse Community Hero Award for athletics, as well as Volunteer of the Year in the 2023 Australia Day awards and being named 2024 Citizen of the Year – is, he says “a great honour, as it shows the work you do is being seen and is making a difference”.
National Volunteer Week is 19-26 May
