Literally, Eels bookworm is a national hero
April 28, 2005
Parramatta forward Dean Widders uses his profile to great effect in encouraging literacy among indigenous groups, writes Roy Masters.
Dad reads thousands of addresses a day; mum reads kids' school reports and now their son has won a national award for distributing books to disadvantaged youth.
Parramatta's Dean Widders has won the inaugural "BounceBack" athlete of the year award, a national program that recognises the efforts of elite sportspeople who work with 250,000 young Australians annually to overcome suicidal tendencies, depression, alcohol abuse, fitness problems, drug use and poor diet.
Widders, who won the NRL's Ken Stephen award for community service last year, is the patron of the Books in Homes program and delivers literature to promote reading among indigenous children in isolated communities.
"I've always been a big reader," the 25-year-old Aboriginal forward said. "Reading gave me confidence and as I got older, that confidence helped me on the rugby league field.
"Many Aboriginal kids have no books in the house. If you are going to be good at anything, reading will be a big part of it."
Widders' parents in the university city of Armidale encouraged him to read from an early age. "Dad's a mail sorter at the uni and Mum's an education officer and they always pushed education to me," said Widders, who was chosen by the BounceBack Foundation ahead of basketball legend Andrew Gaze, Carlton player Glen Bowyer and St Kilda's Xavier Clarke.
The award was presented to Widders yesterday by the Governor of Victoria, John Landy, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
NRL chief executive David Gallop said of Widders: "He is constantly making a difference to people's lives and, like so many of our players who work in the community, he does so without fuss or fanfare."
Widders has visited various remote communities, from Arukun in far north Queensland to Alice Springs, distributing reading material.
He always leaves an email address and encourages children to communicate with him in an effort to develop their writing skills. Sport's grip on the national psyche, particularly in Aboriginal communities, means elite athletes can be effective role models, according to Widders.
"Members of parliament, doctors and scientists go to those communities and five or six people turn up," he said. "A sportsman goes there and they all turn up and the smiles on their faces are amazing."
Widders carries with him a photograph of Wallaby Justin Harrison with Aboriginal kids, taken when they were all 13.
"It shows the bad body language of the indigenous kids, while Harrison alone is confident, standing out the front, shoulders square," he said of the photo, published recently in the wake of the allegations of racism against the NSW forward.
"The Aboriginal kids have their heads down and they look intimidated. When I saw that photo I said to myself, 'This is something I'd like to change'."
Whereas Aboriginal footballers are traditionally shy and often remain guarded and withdrawn during their playing days, Widders does not lack self-esteem. Indeed, he admits he has political ambitions.
"To help people the most, you have to be involved in politics," he said. "They [politicians] have the most opportunity to change things."
However, the 80-game player would first like to play for a further five years with the Eels.
Asked whether he read the play on the field, Widders said: "[Coach] Brian [Smith] has me coming off the bench and lifting the boys. But I am a bit of a deep thinker about rugby league. I pitch myself as a smart player who tries to think a bit more than others. I've read every rugby league biography there is."
While Smith has not yet delegated him responsibility for implementing the Eels' gameplans, he has allowed him time off from training to distribute his books nationwide.
"If Dean gets the right support after he finishes football, he is someone who could make a difference for all of us," the coach said.
Widders, in turn, sees Smith as his role model. "I've never seen anyone work harder than him," he said. "He seems to thrive on the pressure. He tells us good things will happen if you work hard."
But, I ask, wasn't that first written in the good book? "Yes, Jack Gibson also said it," Widders concedes.
