Choosing to be a winner

By Bridget Cook
TWO of Australia’s top sports role models sent a strong message to students at Cranbourne Secondary College last week – walk away from violence.
Collingwood footballer Dane Swan and champion Australian boxer Sam Soliman visited the school on Thursday as part of the Department of Justice’s Choices, Live No Fear campaign.
The Choices program has been running workshops in schools across the state, helping male students avoid violence.
Cranbourne Secondary College principal Ken Robinson said Choices was an important program for young men, teaching them the importance of making the right choices in their lives.
“We are grateful to the boxers who have been sharing their stories in the hope that the next generation will be able to avoid confrontation and deal appropriately with any violent situations they face,” he said.
“We are excited to have Collingwood Football Club on board as an official community partner of Choices.”
Dane, Collingwood Football Club’s ambassador for the program, said he hoped young people would listen to the message that the campaign was aiming to relay.
“I’m looking forward to being involved in the Choices program again this year and to working with the team to help young men understand the importance of always making the decision to walk away from a violent situation,” he said.
Boxer Sam said the best defence was to walk away.
“People will always say, ‘Oh there’s the champ, I reckon I can take him’,” he said.
“They want to start a fight, get a reaction from me. But the best reaction is to always put your hands up, smile, say ‘I don’t want any trouble’ and walk away.
“That’s using the most important muscle you have, your brain.”
Participants are presented with a series of real-life scenarios and then work their way through good, bad and ugly choices they could make.