MADE it: Dodd draws inspiration from Gurley in mentor role
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Jillaroos hooker Quincy Dodd asked former NFL star Todd Gurley to sign an LA Rams shirt when he attended Sharks training, but she is fan of his off-field deeds as much as those he achieved on it.
An NRL School to Work graduate, Dodd believes in giving back and last year received the NRLW Indigenous Leadership and Excellence award after mentoring two young female participants in Project Pathfinder – a joint initiative between the NRL and NSW Police Force.
Gurley, who won the 2015 Offensive Rookie of the Year and the 2017 Offensive Player of the Year with the LA Rams, has established the MADE (Make A Difference Everyday) Sports Foundation to inspire youth to pursue academic and athletic excellence.
Dodd and Sharks NRL playmaker Nicho Hynes introduced Gurley to a group of School to Work participants when he attended a training session with the club last Friday.
“He does a program that is similar to School to Work,” Dodd said. “It is pretty cool, especially given his experience and his profile.”
Gurley, who was picked by the Rams in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, said that after retiring in 2022 following a spate of injuries he wanted to use his influence to encourage young people to strive to be their best.
“It often takes someone else to see more of you than you see of yourself, and I wouldn’t have been an NFL player if I didn’t have great mentors and leaders,” Gurley said.
What is the point of having someone who has done it in the past if they can’t give back, so if I can teach someone else my mistakes why wouldn’t I do it.
“It is good for the heart; you can do a thousand things for yourself but the moment you do one thing for someone else you just automatically find something you can’t buy.”
Dodd, who co-captained last year’s Indigenous All Stars team, is now helping to provide guidance after taking part in the NRL School to World program while in Year 11 and 12 at Cronulla High.
From the field: Dodd and Skinner
Current Sharks assistant coach Daniel Holdsworth was her mentor and steered Dodd into development work for the NRL.
“It was more about what I was going to do after school and the work situation,” Dodd said. “Daniel explained to me that you could give something a go and if you don’t like it then try something else.
“That was an important message for me because I had no idea what I wanted to do. I wasn’t the best at school, but having Daniel there guiding me and making sure I stayed in school was probably a big thing.
“A lot of people can lose interest because they don’t know what they want to do and there is so much pressure on them so having that support person was good.
“I think Daniel even helped me with my resume and came in and checked on me a few times. He knew that I was playing sport at the time and something I wanted to pursue was rugby league. I was then lucky enough to get a job with the NRL doing game development.”
Dodd has now become a mentor for others, and last year took flew to Moree with NSW Premier Chris Mimms, Sharks team-mate Rhiannon Byers and Rabbitohs stars Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker and Tyrell Munro for the launch of Project Pathfinder.
She later became a mentor for two of the participants.
“I mentored two young Indigenous women - one from Bourke and one from Lightning Ridge,” Dodd said.
“They came to Sydney for a week, and we got to show them Sydney and the opportunities in Sydney – there are the universities and obviously a lot more job opportunities as well.
“I had never really mentored anyone before so getting to use those skills was awesome.
“It is something that I love doing, I love helping out young kids – Indigenous and non-Indigenous. I formed that connection and safe space, as well. Being a player they opened up a little bit more because they have an interest in rugby league.
“One of them I still speak to regularly. She wants to pursue a rugby league career, which is awesome.”
