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View all programs The Smith Family helped Tyrell Sloan break the cycle
17 February 2022
The day Tyrell Sloan, age 19, found out he would fulfil his life’s dream and debut as a professional rugby league player for the St George Illawarra Dragons, the first person he called was his Nan.
“It was my Nan who brought me up,” the proud Wiradjuri man explains. “My dad was only 16 when I was born. My mum and dad were in and out of jail. Nan fought for my custody through DOCS. My Nan is my rock. Everything I do, I do for her and my brother.”
“It was my Nan who brought me up,” the proud Wiradjuri man explains. “My dad was only 16 when I was born. My mum and dad were in and out of jail. Nan fought for my custody through DOCS. My Nan is my rock. Everything I do, I do for her and my brother.”
Nan Colleen desperately wanted to be there for Tyrell and his big brother Ashley. But her selfless decision to take them in pushed her into hardship. They just scraped by.
“Honestly, I don’t know how she did it,” Tyrell says.
From a young age Tyrell knew his family couldn’t afford everything other students had at his school.
“I’d always been a kid who wanted to fit in with the other kids,” he says. “To have the same shoes and things.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how she did it,” Tyrell says.
From a young age Tyrell knew his family couldn’t afford everything other students had at his school.
“I’d always been a kid who wanted to fit in with the other kids,” he says. “To have the same shoes and things.”
“I have really good memories of doing student2student. After school, I’d be out playing footy on the oval and at four o’clock, Nan would come out on the front veranda and yell out that Ethan was on the phone for me. Reading out loud to Ethan really helped me learn better,” he remembers.
The teenage years were tough for Tyrell. He moved from school to school trying to find the right fit. Instability affected every part of his life. He was at serious risk of leaving school early and living his life below the poverty line. In situations like this, all it takes is one caring individual to help a young person turn their life around at a critical point. For Tyrell that was his sports teacher and careers advisor at Dapto High, where he went in Year 10.
“Every day my teacher was helping me at school, helping me with everything,” says Tyrell. “He is definitely one of the reasons I stayed. The financial support of my sponsor was also a massive help, right up until I finished school.”
Tyrell gets emotional thinking about his first game with the Dragons last July. That day his Nan Colleen presented him with his first Dragons jersey. Soon after he scored his first try for the team.
“Just to see her face after the game made me so proud, and I knew she was proud of me too,” he says. “It’s an achievement that she’s done as well.”
Tyrell has come so far to achieve his dreams, with the support of his teachers, his sponsor – and of course, his beloved Nan. Today, he feels playing in the NRL is his chance to inspire other Indigenous kids and honour her.
“Nan has made a lot of sacrifices in her life; it’s crazy what she’s done for me,” Tyrell says. “Now I want to break that cycle. I want to be a role model for the next generation coming up.”
The teenage years were tough for Tyrell. He moved from school to school trying to find the right fit. Instability affected every part of his life. He was at serious risk of leaving school early and living his life below the poverty line. In situations like this, all it takes is one caring individual to help a young person turn their life around at a critical point. For Tyrell that was his sports teacher and careers advisor at Dapto High, where he went in Year 10.
“Every day my teacher was helping me at school, helping me with everything,” says Tyrell. “He is definitely one of the reasons I stayed. The financial support of my sponsor was also a massive help, right up until I finished school.”
Tyrell gets emotional thinking about his first game with the Dragons last July. That day his Nan Colleen presented him with his first Dragons jersey. Soon after he scored his first try for the team.
“Just to see her face after the game made me so proud, and I knew she was proud of me too,” he says. “It’s an achievement that she’s done as well.”
Tyrell has come so far to achieve his dreams, with the support of his teachers, his sponsor – and of course, his beloved Nan. Today, he feels playing in the NRL is his chance to inspire other Indigenous kids and honour her.
“Nan has made a lot of sacrifices in her life; it’s crazy what she’s done for me,” Tyrell says. “Now I want to break that cycle. I want to be a role model for the next generation coming up.”
Read more student and family stories in our Autumn 2022 edition of Real People, Real Stories.
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