It only took one half of footy for Steve Sharp to know that Jye Caldwell had special talent.
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Prior to becoming the Rural Bank Bendigo Pioneers’ talent manager, Sharp coached Golden Square junior teams for several years.
Five years ago Sharp was in charge of the Bulldogs’ under-16s and one game they were struggling to field a full side.
At the conclusion of the under-14 match, Sharp asked if any of the young Bulldogs would like to help the under-16s out by playing an extra game.
Caldwell, just 13 at the time, was one of the first to put his hand up.
Sharp admits he was reluctant to play the lightly-framed Caldwell.
“Jye was a bottom-age under-14 player and I really was only looking for top-age kids because I was worried they’d struggle with the physicality of the under-16s,’’ Sharp said this week.
“Jye said he’d be fine and his dad (Rodney) said he’d be fine.
“We were short, so I decided to let him play.
“I was only going to play him for a quarter or a half. I put him down in the back pocket and he just kept wining the ball. I couldn’t take him off. He was our best player that day.
“He just had a great appetite for competition.”
That fierce determination and the will to be the best he possibly can are two of the reasons why the Golden Square and Bendigo Pioneers midfielder looks set to have his name read out somwhere in the top 15 selections of the AFL National Draft on Thursday night.
The fact Caldwell is going to be at the pointy end of the AFL Draft is no surprise to anyone that has been part of his journey.
Brendan Blandford was Caldwell’s under-12 inter-league coach with the Bendigo Junior Football League.
In June, 2012, the BJFL hosted arch-rival Ballarat at Strathfieldsaye.
Ballarat had the wood on Bendigo in junior representative matches, but not that day.
Bendigo won by three goals thanks largely to a best on ground performance by Caldwell.
“He had his own footy that day,’’ Blandford said.
“He used the ball so well on both sides of his body, had amazing lateral movement and just knew how to win his own footy.
“Individually, he played really well, but even at that age what stood out was his team ethos. He was a standout.”
Caldwell’s natural talent and work ethic ensured footy wasn’t his only sporting talent as a junior.
He represented the Bendigo Junior Braves in basketball, played representative cricket and was a state champion in boxing.
People in the know say if not for Caldwell’s love of footy, he could have gone on to compete at a high level in basketball, boxing or cricket.
Hit Factory boxing coach Danniel Burton said Caldwell could have been an Olympian in boxing.
Burton coached Caldwell for three years from the age of 12 and guided him to a Victorian title victory in just his second competitive fight.
“Jye was the type of kid that when he left (boxing) I wanted to cry,’’ Burton said.
“He was so talented. He just understood what it took. I could set him a challenge and he’d find a way to get it done.
“He was phenomenal in the ring and just so tough. If you pushed him, he’d push back harder.
“If his opponent was more skilful than him, he’d be tougher than his opponent. If his opponent was tougher, he’d outskill his opponent.
“When he won the state title he fought against a kid who was more experienced than him and was very tough and aggressive, but Jye just boxed him and outclassed him
“He had the smarts and the talent. If it hadn’t have been for footy he could have made it to the Olympics.”
Burton has had a plethora of young teens come through his gym for training, but few have matched Caldwell’s commitment and discipline.
“He was a hard worker and he never questioned anything,’’ Burton said.
“He could be fatigued and gased at the end of a session, but if I said we had to finish with a 3km run or sprints, he’d just go out and do it without question.
“At 13 and 14 years of age that’s a massive quality.”
Caldwell’s first cricket coach with Bendigo Cricket Club in the under-11s, Mark Ryan, said it wasn’t so much what the all-rounder could do with bat and ball that stood out to him.
“He was a sponge (for knowledge),’’ Ryan said of Caldwell.
“He just wanted to learn and improve and always listened.
“He had natural talent, which always helps, but the thing I remember most was he wasn’t happy to just be naturally talented.
“He wanted to listen to the coaches and older people around the club to know how he could improve.
“He really worked on being better all the time. He was a very persistent kid and showed great resilience.
“All the attributes you want in an elite sportsman he had at a young age. It’s no surprise to see him get to the level he has with his footy.”
According to Sharp, Caldwell’s personality is just as important as his ability to break free from a stoppage with the Sherrin in hand.
“When AFL recruiters talk to us they don’t want to know about a players footy skills – they can see that themselves and make their own judgement,’’ Sharp said.
“They want to know how what sort of kid he is, how he goes at school, what his parents are like, is he a good listener, can he take feedback on board and is he resilient?.
“Jye ticks those boxes off beautifully. When he was 16 he earned a scholarship to Geelong Grammar and he was that well respected down there that this year he was a school prefect.
“That alone says a fair bit about the kid.”
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