Pies star credits teachers with care and support leading to life change

AFL footballer Brayden Maynard always hoped one of his favourite teachers, Rob Bonnici, would be proud of him after he left his Victorian high school.

Mr Bonnici played a special part in the Collingwood defender’s education. He always had Maynard’s back, supporting him when he struggled academically at times at De La Salle College in Malvern and, as his PE teacher, by encouraging and guiding him in his pursuit of an AFL career.

Fast forward 10 years to when the pair caught up at a De La Salle football presentation dinner last month.

“At the presentation, he came up to me and said, ‘I’m really proud of the man you’ve become and what you stand for’,” Maynard said.

“Those comments sum up the way he’d been able to teach and guide me through my time at De La Salle and he said to just keep doing what I’m doing. It was a really positive reinforcement.”

Mr Bonnici said Maynard had grown into an impressive young man both on and off the field and his willingness to give back to the school and his community was an example of his generous character.

“That’s an aspect that is missed a lot in terms of the person Brayden is off the football field, his work in terms of wanting to give back to the community and support families and individuals that may be less fortunate,” Mr Bonnici said.

“That’s a real attribute that hopefully he got from school, and his family and friends. I like to think the school played some role.”

Maynard thanked multiple teachers for shaping his future.

“They invested so much time into me to inspire me to be better as a man on and off the field,” Maynard said.

He said Mr Bonnici, in particular, had always been a great role model and helped keep him grounded enough to finish his studies at the same time as his football career was taking off.

Maynard is a regular visitor to De La Salle as one of its alumni and supporter of the senior football team. He can often been seen on the sidelines watching matches and has presented the team’s jumpers to players for the past two years.

This year he took to the stage to address the footballers and their families about his own journey from school to the Magpies and even offered to take any student’s phone call if they were struggling and wanted to talk at a later date.

Mr Bonnici, now the deputy principal, said it was important for alumni to return to campus to show students what their future might be like.

“I have a lot of students that have no idea what they want to be in three or five years’ time, but if they can see role models of past students that come back and deliver messages – often the same ones we have been telling them — it just resonates more with the students.”

Maynard said he always enjoyed returning to his old school.

“Once a De La boy, always a De La boy,” he said.