Entering the AFL system is a steep learning curve for any young player.

Draftees go from underage football to being thrown in the midst of a professional environment, where the rigours of becoming an AFL footballer may seem daunting.

In recognising some may need more help than others in becoming accustomed to this new environment, Essendon’s Jack Jones Academy (JJA) helps alleviate those pressures.

Since its inception, the JJA, named after club legend, Jack Jones, has helped provide a streamlined education program for Essendon’s first to third year players to accelerate their knowledge on performance on and off the field.

The academy focuses on establishing a bond amongst younger players and provides them with touch points for accountability and education around football as well as other aspects of their lives as professional athletes.

Over the pre-season, the club has held camps for the JJA, using the state-of-the-art facilities at the NEC Hangar such as the newly opened dormitories.

Head of high performance Sean Murphy spent the night with the playing group earlier this month in the most recent session and is a mentor and coach for the club’s young players throughout the entire season.

“The JJA do two sessions a week. One welfare, and one footy focused, and we have involvement in that from a high-performance point of view,” Murphy said.

“There’s a plan in place across the year, but just to have this as a touch point, and continue to open space for education, it helps accelerate their learning on and off the field.”

On top of expanding their football knowledge, the JJA group learned about diet quality before undertaking a cooking lesson with the club chef.

Murphy says it’s imperative for young players entering an AFL environment to support their on-field work with the right processes off of it.

“There’s a lot of education around our game plan and the football side of things, but then one big aspect we’re trying to do a lot more this year is diet quality,” Murphy said.

“A lot of these young kids come in with light frames and we want to put a bit of muscle mass on them, that’s through nutrition but also then teaching them how to train at a good level.

“It’s about the holistic approach. If you can sort yourself out off the track, your footy will also flow, but if you’re scrambling off the track, your footy isn’t going to be any success either, so we’re trying to help them put that all together.”

Club dietician Rebekah Alcock has been working closely with the players this pre-season to highlight growth areas and help hit individual and club goals before the season kicks off.

Alcock says nutrition is one of the most important aspects to any footballer’s preparation and recovery.

“We’re trying to hit multiple goals with this education, we’re obviously trying to increase their knowledge, getting them to understand the importance of diet quality,” Alcock said.

“Then setting examples and providing options to help them to be able to execute that knowledge, with how to prep food that will actually support their performance and recovery.

“It is important to make sure the players are eating good and nutritious food to support their health and also prevent injury and illness.”