"I thought I wasn't going to finish it, but I just had to push through."
Newman teenager Jessi Indich now has the belief he can play footy in the future after joining 18 other teens on a tortuous trek many AFL players have also trod – the Kokoda Trail.
For the entire group of young men and women from the Y WA (formerly the YMCA), it was a heck of a trek tackling one of the world's toughest historical trails, with all 19 courageously finishing the epic journey through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea earlier this month as part of the youth service's Kokoda Leadership Development Program.
"The Kokoda trail really helped me because what I want to do in the future is play footy," Jessi, 15, said.
"I thought I couldn't walk all that, but I pushed through it. The hardest part was going up hills, and down hills, that really hurt my legs.
"I kept on slipping. I think I hurt my leg, and I was like, no I can't do this anymore. But then some of my mates came over and said 'oh yeah you can, just push through this'. That cheered me up a little bit and I pushed through."
Kalgoorlie's Tehniesha Yorkshire, 15, said she was nervous at the beginning but eventually found a rhythm.
"At the start I was feeling very overwhelmed because I was self-doubting if I could really do it. When we got to Kokoda and I was looking at the mountains, I was like, can I really climb that?" she said.
"When we started the track, I was struggling. But after maybe three days, that's when I started enjoying it more and not struggling as much because I was getting into the routine we had daily.
"And it was just really fun when we were crossing the rivers and climbing or going down."
Stanis Jack, also from Kalgoorlie, said he felt empowered after completing the 96km trek.
"The first day was definitely the hardest, the mountain we had to climb was the biggest one, so we were struggling … after the second day it was raining a lot, I almost slipped," the 16-year-old said.
"After I would finish, I wouldn't sit down and take a break. I'd always clap and cheer on the other trekkers walking down ... I felt proud and happy for everyone, instead of giving up and not doing it at all."
Jack said he feels nothing is impossible after the long preparation and arduous trek.
"I feel like I can do anything and everything, because 96kms is a lot of walking," he said.
"I've learned a lot from Kokoda. Leadership is one thing, talking to people and encouraging them. Then the other is never giving up, always giving your best in everything you do."
The group was selected in August 2024, receiving expert and pertinent advice on their mental and physical preparation over eight challenging months, which helped them trek through dense jungles, with hiking distances ranging from 12-19km per day over steep and arduous terrain and a diverse beautiful rainforest.
Natalie Piuk, centre manager for Y Kalgoorlie who was also one of four mentors on the trek, said the challenge was one of the best experiences of her life.
"And I think for the young people as well," she said.
"Every day came with its own challenges, but when it was the last day before we left everyone was like, no we wish we could stay longer, and it's surprising because the first day everyone was like, we want to go back home.
"We want to create leaders in this program who can look beyond face value and see how they can best support other people."
