On the field, Angus Bell is creating a legacy that could see him play an influential role for a decade for the Wallabies. However, it’s his work off it that could be more impactful.
Whilst you’d expect Bell to take the Christmas break to rest and recover after another brutal season, 21-year-old took it upon himself to link up with What Ability as a social worker.
The support services foundation was created by Steve Dresler, with the former Parramatta Eel recognising the influence athletes can play in the community whilst building a positive relationship with children and adults with disabilities.
Having been medically retired from the NRL due to a series of knee injuries, Dresler initially used his contacts with the Eels and NRL to grow the business and use athletes as support workers, with their mission to ‘make happiness come first’
“It was only meant to be small but it grew from there. We use semi-professional and professional athletes as support workers and it’s grown to where we have athletes from the NRL, Super Rugby, Netball, Cricket,” he explained.
“They just go out surfing, swimming, bush walks, timezone, doing all the fun stuff that we get to do but the kids might not get to do as much. I think the biggest thing is a lot of providers and services focus heavily on therapy and traditional support where we only do that fun stuff.
“That’s why it works so well and why the athletes are so good at it because their role is just to have fun. They’re not there to make them read, write, speak, feed them. Their job is just to have fun because Angus (Bell) can just go to Icebergs and swim, eat some chips and the kid is happy.”
Bell made contact with What Ability towards the end of the Spring Tour ahead of their clash with Wales, initially finding their work on social media through fellow Waratah and Wallaroo Arabella McKenzie.
However, it would take months to link up as Bell found himself stuck in London with COVID, one of a small group of Wallabies to contract it ahead of the Barbarians game against Samoa, which would eventually be cancelled.
Once he was cleared to return and served the home isolation, the 21-year-old was quick to make up for lost time.
“I contacted Steve through Instagram because I’d seen what they’d be doing and through various channels and it’s something that did such good things so I wanted to be a part of it,” he said.
“It was a hard process (returning from Europe), It was two weeks after the Barbarians game…I landed on the Sunday, had three days home quarantine and then on the Friday I had my first support shift with Steve at Bondi and sat and observed.
“I think the response they give you from your support and also having fun with you is awesome. That’s the most rewarding part of being involved in a company like this heading forward is that you get this rewarding feeling and helping a kid have a fulfilled day and do things a normal kid would do.
“You can see the joy on their faces. It’s really fulfilling and rewarding to support work and help the kids through the day.”
The instant gratitude on both sides of the relationship was clear to see, with Bell instantly taken aback by the response, forming a quick relationship with a 12-year-old non-verbal boy named Joey.
Their typical day involved the towering prop taking Joey to the beach ('he loves the water' notes Bell), playing with him, throwing him around the water before taking him for lunch to round out the day.
“it’s so simple but it brings so much happiness to a kid like Joe who’s happy all day if he is in the water. It’s really rewarding and super simple to get involved with,” Bell believes.
“I reckon I’d have a pretty strong relationship with Joey now. You walk into his house and he knows he’ll be having a great, fun day out and not make that connection with all that Rugby stuff.
“I’d say now after doing a couple of months and sessions with Joey, I’d say we have that relationship and feel really comfortable with each other and go out and have fun.”
Bell made his goals on the Rugby field clear at the start of the year: he wants to be the best.
“I want to be the best loose-head in Australia,” he said in a press conference ahead of the first trial against the Brumbies.
“I want to start for my country and last year I felt like I achieved that in spots and started a couple of times but when I got those opportunities, I wasn’t quite accurate enough in some areas and Dave (Rennie) let me know about it and then put me back on the bench.
“Personally, I know what I can do on the field and still want to keep pushing myself to have a greater impact and a better loosehead at the international level.”
With those internal and external pressures at such a young age comes expectations and the responsibilities of being a role model for future generations.
Dresler’s in a perfect position to recognise and understand this, having experienced it himself whilst also working with the likes of rugby league stars Dylan Brown, Reed Mahoney and netball superstar Maddy Proud.
It's why the work What Ability does is so crucial for providing perspective on the countless examples of athletes doing great things for the community.
“Joey can’t read or write or understand what the Waratahs but that’s why it’s the perfect example is because Angus is chilled and say ‘Joey we’re going to the park, let’s go have the best day ever’ and he knows he’s getting that with Angus,” Dresler said.
“It helps Angus and those athletes almost get away from the sporting side because their life is so influential in the Rugby world and 99% of interviews and talking is about Rugby but this is a different scenario - it’s about Joey.
“Joey doesn’t understand anything about sport but that’s where Angus can feel almost a sense of relief and just go and be normal, help someone out that’s not just benefiting Rugby.”
This feeling is reflected in Bell, who’s grown as a person even in the short time he’s been involved with the program
“There’s a massive responsibility with becoming a support worker and it’s been extremely eye-opening,” he said.
“It shows you a different way of communication and a massive responsibility in supporting someone but once you build that relationship like with Joey, you get to understand him and find a different way of communicating as he’s non-verbal.
“That responsibility to support him and finding that different way to communicate is huge but also having fun during the day.
“It’s pure happiness.
It’s that fulfilment of making someone happy and making them have an awesome day…you know you are doing something good but it’s at no cost, for me it’s stuff I’d be doing anyway.
“It’s unreal and unbelievable to give someone that happiness."
Bell and the Waratahs’ current bubble situation restricts the work they can do with What Ability off the field. However, they are already planning sessions with the GenBlue squad whilst pushing for disability rounds/days with the club and Rugby Australia.
“A big one for the athletes is their job is to obviously play sport and win games but a big part is to inspire that next generation of kids,” Dresler believes.
“I think the role that guys like Angus, Dylan Brown and these high-profile girls play that are on TV and playing professional sport, imagine there’s young kids in Icebergs who see Angus playing with a kid with (a) disability and they think ‘oh s***, that’s cool, how can we help and be more inclusive?’
“That’s one big role that the athletes play because if they post a picture or share their experience with a kid with (a) disability, it might spark that conversation with creating a more inclusive Australia and help that younger generation looking up to people like Angus and Dylan and normalise it.”
“Angus is a great example of that high-end professional athlete that makes time in their busy schedule to come out and support work, he’s very much a leader within other athletes,” Participation Manager of What Ability Olivia King added.
“This is why we’ve developed the athlete program to get athletes like Angus, Kennedy (Cherrington). Even though they might be doing less bookings through the year, it’s really admirable to see them do it for the other athletes and to bring others on.
“Just like how Steve started as a 20-year-old in first grade, we want to encourage other athletes to come because whether your high profile like Angus or you're just coming up, we think being a support worker has so much character overlaps with the characteristics of an athlete.
“It shows how big of a platform they have and the influence they can have on their community and creating a more inclusive Australia.”
Bell has already noticed his impact across the playing group, having received messages of intent from Waratahs and Shute Shield guys looking to give back.
“From when I’ve started to now, it’s opened my eyes to thinking how much of a ripple effect doing these things has on the company and getting support workers involved," he suggests
“I’ve only been involved for a couple of months but I’ve already had boys from the Waratahs contact me about how to get involved with Steve and how they can have a positive impact.
“I think for me, the positive learning from putting myself out there with a cause like this is how it can influence other people and how it can get them involved in such a great community.”
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2021 seemed like the ‘Year of the Resurgent Wallaby’, with a common theme of comeback players thriving in gold after finding life away from Rugby.
Players such as Quade Cooper, James O’Connor, Izaia Perese excelled whilst praising the value of learning tough lessons as they turn away from a single-minded sport focus.
For a 21-year-old like Bell, finding that purpose away from the field so early is crucial as an ‘escape’ of sorts, helping him to find another avenue for ‘self-happiness’
“it’s huge. It’s a good escape from Rugby but it’s also so accessible,” he added.
“On those days off, getting up and helping someone like what we do at What Ability, it’s a good thing to do because it takes your mind away from Rugby but it also gives you that satisfaction that you are helping someone else and gives you that self-happiness.”
It goes back to the whole purpose of What Ability - Making happiness come first.
