bornadog
09-02-2014, 10:35 AM
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Lin Jong's name returned to the AFL conversation this week, and he was typically humbled and appreciative of an opportunity he feels blessed to have. Yet he knows that being a multicultural ambassador will sit more comfortably if he can become the footballer he wants to be.
Over the last home and away month of 2012, with the Western Bulldogs laid low by injury and the cumulative pain of defeat, Jong entered the AFL scene in a manner that put him in the company of the most eye-catching of rookie arrivals. He threw himself headlong - quite literally - into the fray, and a sport lacking in Asian influence had a new poster boy.
''I was obviously very excited, thinking, 'How did I get here?''' Jong remembers of his round 20 MCG debut against Richmond, and the three games that followed. ''I was trying to stay very humble and just do my best.'' As he backed into and dived under packs, fans dubbed him ''Linsanity''. He let it all wash by. ''You've got to keep your feet on the ground.''
Last season took care of that.
Jong broke a leg in round two playing for Williamstown, and was introduced to the world of the footballer in rehab. When he came back after two months his touch had deserted him. A high he couldn't have imagined at the start of his first season was followed by a year in which half the games he managed were played in the VFL seconds.
''You try not to think, 'I'm an AFL player but I'm playing reserves','' he says, quick to admit that his fitness was down, his form poor, and he was playing exactly where he deserved to be. Soon, his confidence caught the bug and plummeted too.
''Like every other footballer who has an injury, not being a real high profile player you doubt where your spot in the team is. You're not playing, you can't show what you've got.
''I felt like I'd made a lot of improvements and then I came back down, back to the start almost. One step forward, two steps back. I was pretty lucky to keep my spot on the list.''
He drew on what positives he could, forging a bond with fellow broken-leg victim Ayce Cordy. He looked at Shaun Higgins and gave thanks that at least his season wasn't over. At his end-of-year review he was told the coaches still saw something in him.
Jong hit the track for his first full pre-season convinced he'd drawn strength from adversity. ''I thought I grew [in 2013], even not playing games, I thought I grew as a person outside of football, being more appreciative of life.''
The Bulldogs sent a dozen players to Denver for altitude training, big men such as Tom Campbell, Jordan Roughead, Tom Williams and newbie Stewart Crameri. ''I just tagged along,'' Jong laughs. ''I want to do all that I can do get fitter and better.''
At training, he now feels stronger, as if his lungs are holding more air. His brief is clear - Jong will play as a shutdown midfielder in Footscray's stand-alone VFL team, hoping to play the role so well that he'll soon be again pushing for senior selection. ''Even in training I play a run-with role.''
Fitness was one significant area marked for improvement, kicking the other. He is pleased to report a similar upward curve. ''I guess it's just a habit thing - practice makes perfect. It's starting to show.''
He hasn't had anyone come up and say, ''I play footy because of you!'' but Jong appreciates what children ''seeing a face like mine in an AFL environment'' could do to inspire. ''I know when I played under 15s, 16s, there was no other Asian person.''
His East Timorese father and Taiwanese mother are immensely proud - of his football career, and now of the position alongside the likes of Nic Naitanui, Majak Daw and Bachar Houli, as a role model with a focus on the multicultural western suburbs. He is studying primary teaching, convinced at 20 and in his third season that football's mental demands are as acute as the physical, and that ''getting your head stuck in it'' does a young man no good.
He likes teaching because it's a job that can change lives, and is starting to realise he can be just as influential in his day job.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/lin-jong-hopes-to-recapture-his-best-form-for-the-western-bulldogs-20140208-328ny.html#ixzz2smDI2LC4
Lin Jong's name returned to the AFL conversation this week, and he was typically humbled and appreciative of an opportunity he feels blessed to have. Yet he knows that being a multicultural ambassador will sit more comfortably if he can become the footballer he wants to be.
Over the last home and away month of 2012, with the Western Bulldogs laid low by injury and the cumulative pain of defeat, Jong entered the AFL scene in a manner that put him in the company of the most eye-catching of rookie arrivals. He threw himself headlong - quite literally - into the fray, and a sport lacking in Asian influence had a new poster boy.
''I was obviously very excited, thinking, 'How did I get here?''' Jong remembers of his round 20 MCG debut against Richmond, and the three games that followed. ''I was trying to stay very humble and just do my best.'' As he backed into and dived under packs, fans dubbed him ''Linsanity''. He let it all wash by. ''You've got to keep your feet on the ground.''
Last season took care of that.
Jong broke a leg in round two playing for Williamstown, and was introduced to the world of the footballer in rehab. When he came back after two months his touch had deserted him. A high he couldn't have imagined at the start of his first season was followed by a year in which half the games he managed were played in the VFL seconds.
''You try not to think, 'I'm an AFL player but I'm playing reserves','' he says, quick to admit that his fitness was down, his form poor, and he was playing exactly where he deserved to be. Soon, his confidence caught the bug and plummeted too.
''Like every other footballer who has an injury, not being a real high profile player you doubt where your spot in the team is. You're not playing, you can't show what you've got.
''I felt like I'd made a lot of improvements and then I came back down, back to the start almost. One step forward, two steps back. I was pretty lucky to keep my spot on the list.''
He drew on what positives he could, forging a bond with fellow broken-leg victim Ayce Cordy. He looked at Shaun Higgins and gave thanks that at least his season wasn't over. At his end-of-year review he was told the coaches still saw something in him.
Jong hit the track for his first full pre-season convinced he'd drawn strength from adversity. ''I thought I grew [in 2013], even not playing games, I thought I grew as a person outside of football, being more appreciative of life.''
The Bulldogs sent a dozen players to Denver for altitude training, big men such as Tom Campbell, Jordan Roughead, Tom Williams and newbie Stewart Crameri. ''I just tagged along,'' Jong laughs. ''I want to do all that I can do get fitter and better.''
At training, he now feels stronger, as if his lungs are holding more air. His brief is clear - Jong will play as a shutdown midfielder in Footscray's stand-alone VFL team, hoping to play the role so well that he'll soon be again pushing for senior selection. ''Even in training I play a run-with role.''
Fitness was one significant area marked for improvement, kicking the other. He is pleased to report a similar upward curve. ''I guess it's just a habit thing - practice makes perfect. It's starting to show.''
He hasn't had anyone come up and say, ''I play footy because of you!'' but Jong appreciates what children ''seeing a face like mine in an AFL environment'' could do to inspire. ''I know when I played under 15s, 16s, there was no other Asian person.''
His East Timorese father and Taiwanese mother are immensely proud - of his football career, and now of the position alongside the likes of Nic Naitanui, Majak Daw and Bachar Houli, as a role model with a focus on the multicultural western suburbs. He is studying primary teaching, convinced at 20 and in his third season that football's mental demands are as acute as the physical, and that ''getting your head stuck in it'' does a young man no good.
He likes teaching because it's a job that can change lives, and is starting to realise he can be just as influential in his day job.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/lin-jong-hopes-to-recapture-his-best-form-for-the-western-bulldogs-20140208-328ny.html#ixzz2smDI2LC4