Ella's wise words keep Beale on ground
Master and the apprentice: Glen Ella has been looking out for young star Kurtley Beale.
As an extremely gifted young Aborigine making a rapid rise through the rugby ranks, Kurtley Beale could not have a better life coach than Glen Ella, Daniel Lane writes.
On the field, schoolboy sensation Kurtley Beale can sum up a situation in a split second like few other players. Now, as Beale counts down the months before he leaves school, former Wallaby Glen Ella is doing all he can to ensure the 17-year-old makes all the right moves off the pitch.
Ella first laid eyes on the code's hottest prospect when Beale played for St Joseph's College 13As at Centennial Park.
He told those who'd listen that he'd spotted a future superstar, but what Ella kept close to his chest was that he'd met a kid - an Aboriginal kid, no less - whose vast potential he could help maximise.
"I could see a great kid and a talented athlete," he says.
"It was always just going to be a matter of keeping him on the right track because I knew things would come to fruition at the end."
Five years later, and with the world at the teenager's flashy feet, the bond between Ella and Beale runs deep. They're not related but quietly spoken Beale uses the word "family" to describe the relationship he and Ella enjoy.
"He's been an adviser and a role model," Beale says.
"He's given me knowledge about the world and he's also helped protect me from things, like barring the media from doing interviews."
For Ella there's an obvious pride in having watched Beale develop into not just a breathtaking athlete but a young man described by his peers as a "natural leader" and "champion".
"I guess you could say there has been a bit of parenting," Ella says of his role.
"It's just been about giving him advice and that's pretty much been for Kurtley to be himself."
Ella, who with his brothers Mark and Gary formed an Australian rugby dynasty in the early-to-mid 1980s, calls on their experiences whenever he needs to help Beale cope with the load of being a schoolboy football star.
"He has the same expectations on him as we did when we were coming through," he says.
"Kurtley has a great attitude in that he just lets it happen. I guess he knows there's no need to go chasing football success because it will happen.
"He's a level-headed kid so he handles the expectation.
"He's quiet, he's shy and that is the way he wants to be. He lets his football do the talking.
"Some of the things he says about not being rushed during a match and not looking at other players to take after are the things my brothers and I talked about."
The Ella brothers were placed under a fair amount of scrutiny, but Beale's spotlight has been blinding.
He's spent the first three days of his school holidays training with the Wallabies at Coffs Harbour. There are suggestions he could tour Europe with the Wallabies in five months. He appears destined to play for the Waratahs next year.
"You have to switch on and off," is how Ella says athletes need to deal with such situations.
"The good thing is Kurtley can switch off and relax. He really doesn't let too much get to him."
But he also cops it in the school playground. While much of it is good-natured stirring by friends, there are kids who want to talk about the prospect of the great things to come. "Kids talk about Wallabies and Waratahs, and I just say, 'Yeah, yeah' and agree with them," Beale says.
"I have little personal goals. Some of them are long term, but at the moment I'm just trying to win the GPS competition with St Joseph's."
Beale was born at Blacktown, played junior rugby league at Mount Druitt and at 13, thanks to a sporting scholarship, became a boarder at tradition-steeped Joey's at Hunters Hill. School teammate Richie Gray, who has been selected for the NSW schoolboys, says while Beale appears to take the attention in his stride, it's difficult for other kids not to get caught up in the hype.
"Everyone looks up to Kurtley," he says. "They try to follow his lead and strive for good things off the field.
"I play inside him - right off Kurtley's hip - and he's great. He can throw the ball and run lines. He's also a good leader. Before a game he instructs us to remain relaxed and give our best."
Beale's depth of character could stem from his upbringing as an Aborigine in Sydney's western suburbs. He nominates legal studies as the school subject that appeals to him most - "knowing your rights and all that kind of stuff".
"It's interesting," he says. "I know there's a lot of cousins [Aborigines] who've been in trouble.
"The course lets us know what it's like in jail. We went to Maitland prison and it was scary.
"I know a lot of cousins who've been there and what they've told me about it is frightening."
With Beale, it's not just all about rugby. Ella and his business partner Rob Horton, who has also helped as a mentor, know these things are all part of the his life education.
"We are preparing him for life after St Joseph's," Horton says. "Kurtley has been protected by the school and the big walls that surround it. The next two years will be a demanding period for him.
"The world is open to him and people - especially media - will have much more access to him than they've had in the past few years. But Kurtley is his own man and he has to make decisions. But I'm certain he'll always listen to advice."
As he packed to attend Camp Wallaby, Ella - the Australian sevens coach - crammed in plenty of advice.
"You'll probably cop a bit of stirring from the blokes - they'll stir the crap out of you - but you'll have to handle it; even give a bit back," he said.
"But when they're out on the training pitch they'll be striving for excellence. Also, Stevie Larkham has a game similar to yours in that you run, pass and distribute. He doesn't say much but when he does talk, listen to everything he has to say."
Beale's biggest concern about being among the game's elite was that he might drop the ball during skill work. But that hasn't been a problem, on or off the paddock.
http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/news/int...1174448363.html
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