Former Warradale Little Athlete and Commonwealth Games decathlete Jake Stein made his AFL debut for the Greater Western Sydney Giants on the weekend in Hobart.

The 25-year-old become the 94^th GWS Giants player as he helped the team attain a comfortable 91-68 victory against North Melbourne, pushing them up to second on the 2019 AFL ladder.

Stein represented the NSW State Team at the 2009 Australian Little Athletics Championships in Adelaide, where he placed fourth in the U15 Pentathlon.

That U15 NSW team finished runners up in the Life Members Trophy, which featured current Australian hurdler Nicholas Hough.

From there, Stein flourished on the track and field, winning gold at the 2011 World Youth Championships in France after setting six personal bests in the Octathlon.

Stein went on to compete at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, where he placed second in the Decathlon.

While training, Stein also coached for Little Athletics NSW at clinics and assisted with school visits and guest speaking spots.

However, Stein’s athletics ambitions ended after a disappointing 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games campaign – any hopes of success in the Decathlon were crushed after false starting twice during the 100m heat.

Stein’s former athletics coach, John Quinn, trained him for several years, improving his running events and overseeing strength training – Quinn spoke of the impact that minor error had on his athletics career.

“He was very disillusioned with athletics after the Commonwealth Games – he wanted to give it away,” said Quinn.

“When I was coaching him, I would combine him with [GWS Giants] players… I have always brought my athletes into the football environment because I believe track athletes tend to have a higher level of professionalism.”

It was through this additional training with the Giants squad that Stein developed an overbearing passion for AFL.

“I used to bring Jake in mainly to do speed work, so I put him alongside guys who were slightly quicker than he,” said Quinn.

“He formed genuine friendships with these young fellows, and the idea of playing AFL crept into his head.”

Being the GWS Giants Football Club Academy Director at the time, Quinn was able to aid Stein with his shift towards Australian Rules Football.

“I was in a position at the Giants to assist that seed of an idea, by identifying him as a potential talent for AFL,” said Quinn.

“They went for it, and the rest is history.”

Stein thanked Quinn for his ongoing support during an interview with the GWS media team.

“I spoke to Quinny about starting footy, and he got me involved,” said Stein.

“I’d been watching footy for five or six years at that time… I never thought it was really a possibility.

“Quinny got me here and three years have gone by, so it’s been a nice journey so far.”

The announcement of Stein’s selection for Sunday’s match against North Melbourne came as a shock for the 25-year-old.

“No words really – I’m over the moon,” said Stein.

“I’m sweating; I’m shaking; I’m stoked.”

“I’ve come a long way, but still got a long way to go – I’m excited.”

Quinn was flown down to Hobart to witness his star athlete’s debut, and the former athletics coach praised his performance.”

“I presented Jake with his first-game day jumper, which was quite an honour,” said Quinn.

“He went very well – if you look at his stats on the day, he has certainly more than held his own.”

Stein’s success in multiple sporting disciplines highlights how Little Athletics provides the essential skills for athletes to succeed, whether that be on or off the track.

During an interview with the Age, Stein spoke about the ease of transition between athletics and other sporting codes.

“[AFL] is no different to executing a decathlon or any other athletic event – you need to just have a clear mindset of what you need to do and how you go about it and give everything you have towards it,” said Stein.

Quinn echoed the sentiments of his athlete, suggesting that athletics is critical to sporting development.

“Track athletes train at a very high level, and in many respects set the standard for training professional for other sports,” said Quinn.

“The very fact I’m now very involved in AFL is because of all of the skills I’ve learnt in the sport of track and field.”

Nic Savage

Little Athletics NSW