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PHOTO: Melbourne forward David Schwarz at training. He has undergone three knee reconstructions. Picture: VINCE CALIGIURI
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5/11/99
Past demons inspire a Demon hero
Nowadays, it seems that to become a hero all you have to do is put out a hit single, appear on a TV soapie or play AFL for a few years. But are these people real heroes or simply media stars? Heroes are much more than stars; they have proven time and again their ability to overcome adversity and, no matter the odds are against them, still succeed.
In sport there have been many in recent years, such as Muhammad Ali, Cathy Freeman, Kieren Perkins and Michael Long. Some have gone beyond the call of duty and spoken out for those less fortunate or disadvantaged, but all have inspired us through their expression of self and their willingness to never give up.
Like all football fanatics, I, too, have my football heroes and one in particular has risen above the pack to become a truly inspirational hero this year.
He grew up in Beechworth, a small town in northern Victoria, but while still a young boy his parents divorced. A few years later, as an eight-year-old staying in a motel in Mount Beauty with his father and his father's new girlfriend, he was awakened by the sound of gunfire. When he opened his eyes he saw a man standing at the door with a gun and his father dead next to him. His father's girlfriend jumped up and started grappling with the gunman (who was her ex-husband) while this terrified young boy escaped through the hole in the wall where breakfast is delivered. A few minutes later the gunman shot himself.
Shortly after this horrific event the boy moved with the rest of his family to Sunbury to get away. Here he spent his teenage years idolising Hawthorn and dreaming of playing AFL footy.
In 1991, at only 18, he made his debut for Melbourne. In 1994 he was close to becoming the next Dermott Brereton, but in February `95 he tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a training drill and had a knee reconstruction.
This wasn't going to stop him living his dream of winning a premiership and playing for Victoria. Eleven weeks later he was back playing; two weeks after that he snapped the same ligament again. While still keen to get back out there again, the doctors warned him it would be the last throw of the dice if he did it again.
In February `96, nine months after the second knee reconstruction, he was back playing in the reserves against Collingwood. Believe it or not, he tried to slow down for a hand pass and the same knee gave way. I remember him sitting in the dressingroom in tears asking the world why it had to happen to him. While he knew he had done his knee again, he didn't know he had also torn the other three ligaments in his knee - and fractured his femur. This time he was told he would never play again.
``I thought it was all over, but a good friend, Brian Cooper Smith, told me I had nothing to lose if I tried again,'' he told me yesterday. Just as well he did, because in May the following year he returned to football, playing seven games that year, 22 last year and this year he is playing the most consistent football of his career.
I remember thinking to myself when he made his third comeback that he was taking a huge risk, but then realising that it didn't really matter whether he succeeded or not - the fact was that he had the courage to try and he wasn't afraid to fail.
He had just shown the world he wasn't a quitter and that if he did go down he was going down with a fight. To his credit he has succeeded and he has become a hero to many, especially me. During my last year when things were getting tough I only had to look to my right in the locker rooms to that No.5 for inspiration.
You know who I'm writing about - the great man David Schwarz.
This year he is in the top three for the most hard-ball gets in the competition, his 13 goals from 16 shots is an incredible 82percent accuracy rate considering most of his goals are from outside 40metres and he was the key to Melbourne's win against the in-form Bombers last weekend.
Yesterday he took another step closer to living one of his dreams when he was picked in the squad to represent Victoria. This week he plays his 100th game.
When I asked him what he has learned from footy, he said: ``Not to take footy for granted. You only have a short time to leave your legacy behind; don't let it pass you by.''
Stars come and go but real heroes never die because their legacy lives forever. David's life is an inspiration to many and his story will live on well past his footy career.
Congratulations David, you deserve it all.
PHOTO: Melbourne forward David Schwarz at training. He has undergone three knee reconstructions. Picture: VINCE CALIGIURI
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