His goal is to give back
AS one of nine siblings who all loved their football, a longstanding relationship with the game was a natural development for Matthew Ham.
Now it is his opportunity to give back to the game, and the North Queensland community. The Ayr product ascended to the heights of the code in Australia, donning the Brisbane Roar orange on five occasions.
It is a game that has given him plenty, and as part of the new 1300SMILES Active Schools program, he will bestow what it taught him upon the next generation.
The program, a collaboration between 1300SMILES Dentists and North Queensland Football, offers school students a free pathway to gain skills on the field – all designed to encourage healthier living and a physical lifestyle in children and adolescents.
These taught skills will occur in an inflatable pitch, with six school sessions a week to be delivered in Townsville. Four others are in Cairns, with bookings expected to increase each week.
Ham’s skill in harnessing young talent goes beyond what he does with his three kids. In Brisbane, he owns a gym which incorporates a program – Long Term Athletes Development – which uses the same principles as the imminent schools outlet.
And as such a determined football enthusiast on and off the field, Ham is eager to use this opportunity to help make the sport shine in a rugby league-dominated region.
“I was very lucky to get that exposure. I had a minicareer, not the greatest career, but I got to a certain level. Injuries pulled me back a bit, but I’m still passionate,
I’ve always loved the game,” Ham said.
“Now I can give back ... I’d love to give back to the community that doesn’t have the resources they have in Brisbane. When I was young we didn’t have this stuff, so if I can give some expertise and maybe find some talent, I can progress them a better pathway.
“It’s very rare to have a private sponsor doing something like this, especially in a time of COVID, when there’s not a lot of money around – I think that’s pretty special.”