Fans Players

Markovic joins Ladder

As the months get colder, a night on the training track becomes that little bit more grueling. However, as Lukas Markovic explains this pales in comparison to the daunting reality for over 30,000 young Australian’s who are faced with the prospect of another winter in the grips of homelessness.

Markovic is the latest AFL player to become a youth mentor for the AFL Players’ charity, Ladder. What sets Ladder apart is that not only do they provide accommodation, but also provide the life skills training required for these young people to gain independence and break the cycle of youth homelessness.

Markovic’s skills range from his experience in working with youth in the community gained through previous roles with mentoring programs, through to his certificate IV in Sport and Recreation. However there is little question that his greatest asset is his passion for the cause.

“I’ve always been interested in helping out kids,” said Markovic.

“Previously I’ve done some work with a group called White Lion and really enjoyed it. So when I was approached by Ladder and asked to be involved, I jumped at the opportunity.”

His passion does not come from his own personal hardships, by his own admission Markovic has lived a blessed life, but rather comes from a desire to provide other young people with the opportunity to follow their dreams.

His role as a mentor does not focus on his career as a footballer, but rather on sharing his life experiences and helping these young people execute some of the skills we often take for granted.

“It might just be the small things we often take for granted in social situations, like going to buy a sandwich.  As a mentor we are here to support and help these young people feel confident that they can deal with these everyday situations.

“From my previous experience I’ve seen first hand how quickly these young people can grow in confidence and often all they need is a little bit of support and guidance in the right direction and they are ready to go out into the big wide world and go along in their own way.”

Markovic does not shy away from the high expectations placed on footballers to be leaders within the community.

“We are role models whether we like it or not, so it is important that we are contributing to the community,” said Markovic.

“A program like Ladder does just that and I I couldn’t think of anything better to be involved in to help those who need a hand.”

For Markovic, the role of a mentor also has reciprocal benefits, providing great personal satisfaction and a distraction from life as an AFL footballer.

“It’s certainly enriching knowing that you are helping out,” said Markovic.

“It’s a good feeling to be giving something back and I’ve been lucky to have a good upbringing and lots of opportunities available to me, so it’s only fair that I step up when the opportunity arises,” Markovic said.

Ladder General Manager, Mark Bolton, says the involvement of AFL footballers in the mentoring programs is vital to the organisation’s success.

“Our organisation is about helping young people follow their dreams, and this is a notion every AFL player can relate to,” said Bolton.

“The challenges our young people face are obviously very different to that of an AFL player, however the resilience skills that help players deal with road blocks, like injury or poor form, are life skills that can be passed on and applied within a young person’s life as they make their way through our programs.”

Over the past twelve months, every player continued to contribute $25 from every senior match played resulting in a collective contribution of $150,000 to Ladder, which was matched by the AFL, equaling a total contribution of $300,000.

This money helped deliver over 1000 hours of support to young people through Ladder’s programs and saw 18 young people, nine from Hoddle St and nine from St Vincent St,  successfully move on to live independently in the community.