By: JAMES BRESNEHAN
He was particularly impressed with Abdul Johnny Moore, of Lenah Valley, who fled with his family from war-torn Sierra Leone and arrived in Tasmania as a refugee three years ago.
And Joseph Bodis, of George Town, who broke his neck when he was eight, preventing him playing contact sports for four years.
Now he represents both George Town High School and his footy team.
``Anyone can nominate a HighMarks participant and we select the ones we feel are most worthy and have a football background of some description,'' Hudson said.
The 10 players will spend four days with the Tasmanian Devils VFL team, learning about fitness, sacrifices each player makes to play at that level, and how they prepare for a game.
The program culminates in game day as the 10 youngsters watch the Devils take on Port Melbourne at Bellerive on Saturday.
``They do a bit of everything, and it's not just about footy,'' Hudson said.
``They do sessions on nutrition, safe driving and positive choices, a whole range of things.
``It's four wonderful days and two of them get selected to go and join 10 people in Victoria and they have four days with the Hawthorn footy club.''
When the four-day HighMarks is over, the 10 Tasmanians will be asked to submit a 300-word essay on why they should be picked to go to Melbourne next month.
Last Modified on 10/06/2008 10:45