Footy puts on show of support for youth

STREETS to Sports is just the start of pointing youth in need in the right direction, according to organiser Rob Hodge.

More than 200 rugby league and rugby union players will run from Mooroobool to Manunda today to offer themselves as a safe haven for misguided teens and get them off the streets.

Hodge, who has been involved in youth justice for the past 18 years, said the response had been overwhelmingly positive, showing the wider community how committed sporting clubs were to helping young people.

The NRL development officer said rugby league was key to putting him on the right path and was eager to make this initiative a sustainable and effective one.

“The reason this is so important for me to drive and the reason I think this is going to work is from all the experience I’ve had coaching people over the years and my own,” Hodge said. “I was 15 years old and kicked out of every school available and the biggest thing that turned me around was my footy coach, who I still speak to. This is just the key strategy to build awareness. The real work happens afterwards.”

Police have established a traffic management plan to ease safety issues, while volunteers have put their hands up to set-up water stations on the route.

The demonstration will start at Kangaroos Rugby League Club, Mooroobool, at 5pm.