Draft hopeful Josh Docking may not be 18 for a few months yet, but he’s already experienced far more time in an elite AFL environment compared to others his age.

A member of STK Academy, the Sandringham Dragons/Haileybury College winger has absorbed everything the Moorabbin Airport supported Elite Talent Program has had to offer over the past three seasons, ranging from weekly training sessions at RSEA Park, coaching from Nick Dal Santo and even training with St Kilda’s AFL side. 

Offering players from multicultural and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds opportunities to progress their individual development and skills, STK Academy has produced seven graduates who have since joined AFL clubs.

Current Saints Mitch Owens, Marcus Windhager, Jack Peris and Angus McLennan were all recruited out of STK Academy, with the latter taken as a Category B Rookie from the club's recent draft class.

Discover more about Docking’s journey as part of the STK Academy, his time spent training with the Saints, his Filipino heritage and much more as he continues to lay the foundations for a career at the highest level.

How did your opportunity to join the Academy come about?

It was just after one of my school footy games. My parents got an email and joined up, it was as simple as that.

My mum’s full Filipino and my dad’s Australian, so that meant I was eligible to join the Academy. I’ve been there for over three seasons now and I’ve loved everything to do with it.

Take us through what a typical week in the Academy looks like.

Once a week on a Wednesday we come into RSEA Park to do some skills with Nick Dal Santo, then straight into the gym for Strength & Conditioning work. 

Every couple of months we usually have a full-day camp where we do skills, watch vision and basically live the life of an AFL player.

What’s your favourite aspect of the Academy?

It has to be the camps, it’s hard to go past that. You’re in at the club for about seven, eight hours and they treat you exactly like an AFL player.

You go through all the things the men’s players would do in a day: training, craft, preparation, recovery, vision, gym, everything else like that. That’s pretty amazing, basically living the life of a Saint for a day.

Following on from that, you were invited to train with St Kilda’s AFL side. How great of an experience was that?

That was a very surreal moment, I felt like I was living my dream. I knew a few boys in there like Marcus Windhager and Olli Hotton already, but all of the boys got around me. 

Bradley Hill and Mason Wood in particular were really good with me, taking me over to do pre-craft with them and getting me introduced to a few of the boys. They were terrific.

The standards of the players and how much they’re doing off the field that you don’t see. It’s pretty evident the good players are that way because of everything they do behind the scenes: every chance they get before or after training they’re doing more craft, more recovery… it was a real eye-opening moment to see how much they were doing. 

I’ve definitely tried to implement that in some of the stuff I’ve been doing in my school footy for Haileybury and for the Dragons.

Tell us a bit about yourself as a footballer.

I’m predominantly a winger, but I can go forward if I need to. My strengths are probably my agility and decision-making. I just love having the ball in my hands and using that run and carry, the speed to weave through traffic and find targets up the field.

Having Nick Dal Santo as your STK Academy coach must be such a good thing to have given your similar traits on-field.

Dal’s really good, he’s so good to talk to. It’s invaluable, really. He was one of the best at it (with his decision-making), so to have him in my corner and showing me the ropes through the Academy has been unbelievable.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve taken out of your time in the STK Academy?

That’s a good question! I think it would just be to play to my strengths and don’t try to do things you know you’re not the best at. If you do the things you do well, keep doing them and keep practicing, it’ll hold you in good stead. Those are the attributes that have me where I am today, so just keep cracking down on them.   

How has the Academy shaped your footy journey so far?

The Academy has been such a big help to me, and for those who may not have the opportunities that others may have. It’s just so good for people to experience what AFL players are actually experiencing and getting help from people like Nick Dal Santo is great for a young player like myself.

They’re doing a really good job at it. That’s probably why there’s a fair few players coming out of it who are doing well.