Stoofy
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- Joined
- Mar 17, 2012
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THIS is the Nate Myles you don’t see. The human side. Stronger and wiser for the times when he endured a fractured “relationship” with rugby league, the Maroons enforcer is giving back.
He is redressing sporting inequities. And, in the process, learning lessons about himself.
On the field, the Titans co-captain has always been all business, but now off it Myles is dipping his toe into the corporate realm, leveraging his status as a Test and Origin forward to educate the next generation of athletes.
Welcome to Nate Myles Inc.
This Sunday, Myles and business partner Mark Gee, brother of Broncos legend Andrew, will launch the Talent Sports Academy, hailed as Australia’s first high-performance program for athletes as young as 10.
Myles is so determined for the Academy to flourish it has been registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, with the Titans co-skipper installed as a company director.
Under Myles and Gee’s plan, an intake of 150 children aged between 10-15 will attend a series of camps, the first held this Sunday at the Titans’ training base at Robina.
Myles will play a hands-on role, with TSA sourcing coaching specialists from a multitude of sports.
Titans legend Preston Campbell and former Olympic swimmer Alice Tait have signed on as ambassadors.
The high-performance program is not sport specific, instead covering areas such as strength-and-conditioning, speed, mobility, flexibility, visual training, nutrition, body management, leadership and life skills.
Organisations such as the Australian Institute of Sport and Queensland Academy of Sport already provide high-performance systems for the nation’s elite athletes. But TSA is targeting a wider audience, chiefly lesser-talented individuals or those in remote country areas with limited access to coaching and performance resources.
Myles can empathise with the average sporting Joe. Growing up in Cairns, he concedes he not only lacked the natural ability of others, but also the opportunities to maximise his talent in his chosen field.
“Kids look up to heroes. They are more likely to listen to a guy like Petero Civoniceva than mum or dad,” Myles says.
“To have something like this academy when I was a kid in Cairns would have been incredible. “This will help pave the way for kids in remote areas.
“You have the AIS and the QAS, but this program will give kids of lesser ability a chance to fulfil their potential.
“It is difficult for clubs and sports to be able to reach certain areas, funding and expenses can only be taken so far.
“I know I was playing alongside kids who were so much more talented than me, but because they lived further out it was harder for them to succeed and a program like this can close the gap.
“Hundreds and thousands of kids from all sorts of sports will get the best coaching tools. It’s an awesome idea. I don’t know why it hasn’t been developed before.”
While TSA’s primary goal is to help at grassroots level, it is fair to say Myles has also helped himself. It wasn’t long ago that his NRL career was at the crossroads after a tumultuous stint at the Roosters, but the 28-year-old’s move to the Gold Coast coincided with serious self-analysis.
He may be a prop but Myles is nobody’s fool. A self-confessed deep thinker, Myles has a forensic eye for real estate and while reading bores him, he could read the signs he had to grow up.
Entering a business venture is an extension of the personal growth that has seen him ascend to the co-captaincy at the Titans.
“I don’t really think about being called a company director because I just see myself helping kids in sport,” he said.
“But I know I’m changing. I’m thinking about different business opportunities, and my own development.
“There’s been a couple of hair-raising moments in my career and I’ll be honest ... I still took too long to realise the opportunity we have as league players.
“Some guys get it early. Some guys never learn. Some guys go off the rails and come good.
“It depends on the person. I don’t know if any one person said grow up Nate, you’re a bloody idiot, but I see things differently now and appreciate my place in the game.
“I remember Craig Fitzgibbon (former Roosters teammate) giving me a spray one day. The one line he gave me I will never forget ... ‘Nate, you can’t have an excuse for everything’.
“If you have an excuse for everything, you will end up being the excuse.”
Gee, a former Titans development manager who played first-grade for the Gold Coast Giants, believes the Academy will find a key niche in the sporting landscape.
“The top two or three per cent of athletes get elite development, but what about the other 97 per cent?” Gee said.
“Any kid is available to come along and try to improve their individual abilities.
“Young athletes develop mentally and physically at different ages and rates. I always had a feeling something more needed to be done at grassroots level and to have an athlete of Nate’s standing is invaluable.”
Myles isn’t eyeing retirement anytime soon but the Academy’s anticipated success could open doors to a corporate post-football career.
They say things happen for a reason. Once at rock bottom in rugby league, Myles, having searched within for answers, hopes the Academy takes kids to the top.
“It’s quite funny my relationship with rugby league and I how I feel towards it since I moved to the Gold Coast,” he said.
“I don’t think Sydney was the problem, I think it was me. I loved where I lived, but I was to blame for the stupid choices I made.
“You don’t get long to do well in this game, so you can either jump on the boat and do great things, or waste the lot of it, which I don’t plan on doing.
“It’s early days for the Academy ... but to be part of something that can develop is really rewarding.”
For more info visit talentsportsacademy.com.au
He is redressing sporting inequities. And, in the process, learning lessons about himself.
On the field, the Titans co-captain has always been all business, but now off it Myles is dipping his toe into the corporate realm, leveraging his status as a Test and Origin forward to educate the next generation of athletes.
Welcome to Nate Myles Inc.
This Sunday, Myles and business partner Mark Gee, brother of Broncos legend Andrew, will launch the Talent Sports Academy, hailed as Australia’s first high-performance program for athletes as young as 10.
Myles is so determined for the Academy to flourish it has been registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, with the Titans co-skipper installed as a company director.
Under Myles and Gee’s plan, an intake of 150 children aged between 10-15 will attend a series of camps, the first held this Sunday at the Titans’ training base at Robina.
Myles will play a hands-on role, with TSA sourcing coaching specialists from a multitude of sports.
Titans legend Preston Campbell and former Olympic swimmer Alice Tait have signed on as ambassadors.
The high-performance program is not sport specific, instead covering areas such as strength-and-conditioning, speed, mobility, flexibility, visual training, nutrition, body management, leadership and life skills.
Organisations such as the Australian Institute of Sport and Queensland Academy of Sport already provide high-performance systems for the nation’s elite athletes. But TSA is targeting a wider audience, chiefly lesser-talented individuals or those in remote country areas with limited access to coaching and performance resources.
Myles can empathise with the average sporting Joe. Growing up in Cairns, he concedes he not only lacked the natural ability of others, but also the opportunities to maximise his talent in his chosen field.
“Kids look up to heroes. They are more likely to listen to a guy like Petero Civoniceva than mum or dad,” Myles says.
“To have something like this academy when I was a kid in Cairns would have been incredible. “This will help pave the way for kids in remote areas.
“You have the AIS and the QAS, but this program will give kids of lesser ability a chance to fulfil their potential.
“It is difficult for clubs and sports to be able to reach certain areas, funding and expenses can only be taken so far.
“I know I was playing alongside kids who were so much more talented than me, but because they lived further out it was harder for them to succeed and a program like this can close the gap.
“Hundreds and thousands of kids from all sorts of sports will get the best coaching tools. It’s an awesome idea. I don’t know why it hasn’t been developed before.”
While TSA’s primary goal is to help at grassroots level, it is fair to say Myles has also helped himself. It wasn’t long ago that his NRL career was at the crossroads after a tumultuous stint at the Roosters, but the 28-year-old’s move to the Gold Coast coincided with serious self-analysis.
He may be a prop but Myles is nobody’s fool. A self-confessed deep thinker, Myles has a forensic eye for real estate and while reading bores him, he could read the signs he had to grow up.
Entering a business venture is an extension of the personal growth that has seen him ascend to the co-captaincy at the Titans.
“I don’t really think about being called a company director because I just see myself helping kids in sport,” he said.
“But I know I’m changing. I’m thinking about different business opportunities, and my own development.
“There’s been a couple of hair-raising moments in my career and I’ll be honest ... I still took too long to realise the opportunity we have as league players.
“Some guys get it early. Some guys never learn. Some guys go off the rails and come good.
“It depends on the person. I don’t know if any one person said grow up Nate, you’re a bloody idiot, but I see things differently now and appreciate my place in the game.
“I remember Craig Fitzgibbon (former Roosters teammate) giving me a spray one day. The one line he gave me I will never forget ... ‘Nate, you can’t have an excuse for everything’.
“If you have an excuse for everything, you will end up being the excuse.”
Gee, a former Titans development manager who played first-grade for the Gold Coast Giants, believes the Academy will find a key niche in the sporting landscape.
“The top two or three per cent of athletes get elite development, but what about the other 97 per cent?” Gee said.
“Any kid is available to come along and try to improve their individual abilities.
“Young athletes develop mentally and physically at different ages and rates. I always had a feeling something more needed to be done at grassroots level and to have an athlete of Nate’s standing is invaluable.”
Myles isn’t eyeing retirement anytime soon but the Academy’s anticipated success could open doors to a corporate post-football career.
They say things happen for a reason. Once at rock bottom in rugby league, Myles, having searched within for answers, hopes the Academy takes kids to the top.
“It’s quite funny my relationship with rugby league and I how I feel towards it since I moved to the Gold Coast,” he said.
“I don’t think Sydney was the problem, I think it was me. I loved where I lived, but I was to blame for the stupid choices I made.
“You don’t get long to do well in this game, so you can either jump on the boat and do great things, or waste the lot of it, which I don’t plan on doing.
“It’s early days for the Academy ... but to be part of something that can develop is really rewarding.”
For more info visit talentsportsacademy.com.au
