A second shot with the Dandenong Southern Stingrays has been granted to Narre Warren footballer Jake Calvert, and he intends to make the most of his opportunity. While he’s received a few chips on the shoulder along the way, Jarrod Potter found out it won’t slow Calvert down in his football pursuit.
IT’S hard to believe Jake Calvert, 18, from Narre Warren, could ever stop smiling.
He stands out as one of the most cheerful people you could ever meet…except when he crosses the white line.
The football world is serious business for the 192cm forward-ruck and every effort he puts into football propels him closer towards the big time.
After playing 15 TAC Cup matches last year for the Dandenong Southern Stingrays with a youthful mop of brown hair, Calvert had his first match up of the year against a set of clippers to show his focus is set on football and that all-important November night when the AFL Draft is held.
After a standout debut in round five against Queensland, Calvert played the rest of the season as a ruckman and forward.
Calvert felt the nerves start to fray pre-match, and he started to question his position in the side, but after slotting the first goal and bagging three for the day, it helped prove his merit at the level.
“I felt like because I hadn’t played a game and was a little older, that maybe I wasn’t as good at the others,” Calvert said.
“The boys at local always encouraged me, told me I was alright, so that sort of helped a bit, but when you get to Stingrays, it’s a little different.
“I was lucky right at the start – I kicked the first goal and lucky enough to get a couple more after that.
“I was nervous at the start, but once you settle down, get a goal or a touch and then it goes all right.”
His last match was the heartbreaking nine-point preliminary final loss to the Oakleigh Chargers, but he didn’t have much chance to affect the course of that game, spending only a short amount of time on the park in favour of current Richmond AFL footballers Todd Elton and Piva Wright.
After spending most of that match on the bench, Calvert wasn’t sure if he would be given a well-deserved lifeline, but his work ethic stood out to the Stingrays coaching staff and he was brought back for another try in the TAC Cup.
“(The coaching staff) spoke about it after the last game and at the best and fairest night to me,” Calvert said.
“I was running with one of the Stingrays coaches in the preseason, and he told me they were pretty interested.
“Then I was lucky enough a couple of weeks later to hear they wanted to keep me, and I really want to make the most of it – you work too hard just to give up on that.
Calvert has acclimatised to life at Shepley Oval a lot better this year, with none of his old worries about deserving his place creeping into his mind.
“It’s been better this year,” Calvert said.
“I feel more comfortable.
“You know the coaches a bit better and everyone is pretty friendly.
“I’m enjoying it all right now.”
It was a season of memorable matches for the key position player, playing on the MCG with the Hallam school-boys side which defeated Essendon-Keilor by 50 points.
“I was facing a 202cm ruckman and Ben McGee (Hallam Senior College coach) called me up every night of the week asking “are you prepared, are you prepared,” Calvert said.
“The year before, we got smashed by Essendon-Keilor and last year we managed to smash them, beat them by a fair few goals and I got up in the ruck too so Ben McGee was pretty happy with that.”
The other match that stands out to Calvert was last year’s Casey-Cardinia grand final, when he took the field for Narre Warren in his first senior match.
Narre Warren narrowly lost to Cranbourne by 21 points, in a match most felt would be even more lopsided, in which Calvert gave the Magpies’ midfielders a strong marking target to aim for up forward.
“At the start it was pretty scary, probably worse than my first Stingrays game cause I didn’t know anyone,” Calvert said.
“The Narre guys are real decent guys and brought me in so I felt a part of it.”
Narre Warren held their own against undefeated Cranbourne before the Eagles kicked into high gear and ran away with the match.
“We were unlucky to lose but we were underdogs anyway,” Calvert said.
“Everyone thought Cranbourne was going to win but we were doing well, up sixteen points at one stage.
It’s probably not as quick as Stingrays, but it’s a lot tougher.
They’re not afraid to hit you behind play – they’re a bit rougher, but I wasn’t scared of that.
The biggest worries related to him now come from coaches who want Calvert to slow down – his eagerness to train down the house can be concerning when he picks up strains, aches and injuries because of that ferocious work ethic.
“The coaches tell me off and tell me to stop doing too much outside of training,” Calvert said.
“I always do too much and end up with a bit of injury, but I’ve been lucky enough not to get too injured.
His experiences from last season have helped find weaknesses in his play and eradicate them as he prepares for the opening match against the Gippsland Power on 31 March.
“I think I’m playing key forward – centre half forward or full forward, so hopefully I can mark it and kick a few goals,” Calvert said.
“The coaches said I had to improve on my marking, so I went with my little brother and got him just to boot the footy at me every day to improve. I feel like it’s improved a fair bit since then and my confidence has improved as well.
“Making it to the preliminary final last season was great, but hopefully this year we go better,” Calvert said.
Just playing and rucking against the big boys was a good start. I am a bit shorter than those boys, but it’s a great experience, good fun.”
Having watched some of his team mates get drafted and hear the stories from their experiences in the AFL gives Calvert hope his name can get read out as well.
“Piva (Wright) always gives me a call and always has something funny to say.
“Adam Treloar (now GWS)comes down as well and I chat to him.
“Piva said it was pretty tough, but it is good fun.
“It’s every day, but it’s awesome fun and everyone is quality.”
“If they can make it, it gives you something to work towards and aim where they have.
“It would be good to play against them or alongside them.
If football doesn’t pan out for Calvert, he’s studying a personal training and fitness diploma at the Victorian Fitness Academy.
“It’s pretty hard, lots of homework,” he said.
“Nath Wright (Stingrays team mate) is there as well, so he helps me I help him.
“That would be good if footy doesn’t work out, so hopefully I can finish the course.”
