Fremantle senior coach Ross Lyon has stressed the importance of engagement outside of football to the 16 Live the Dream participants and eight player mentors at Friday’s program launch at club headquarters.

Proudly sponsored by Decmil, Live the Dream is a once in a lifetime opportunity for 16 young Australians to become immersed in the culture of the Fremantle Dockers Football Club and live the life of an AFL player for five days.

Lyon spoke to the participants about the importance he places on the development of his players not just as footballers on the field, but also as people off it.

“The message is, you need to be more than a footballer,” the he said.

“We like to develop the whole person.

“We’ve got 22 players engaged in undergraduate study and a number doing apprenticeship programs and mentoring roles.

“If they don’t do that, they become one dimensional and it becomes a football bubble.”

Lyon used star midfielder David Mundy as an example of the benefits of a healthy off-field engagement.

“For the first five years, he (Mundy) talks about how he just drifted along and didn’t really engage in any study, and his football really reflected that, he was inconsistent,” Lyon said.

“Then he started a marine science degree, and from there, once he took up that engagement, he was able to focus really sharply on his footy and he became a premier midfielder.”

The senior coach said Live the Dream would help the player mentors’ development, not just the participants.

“It’s a simple message, the best way to learn is to teach,” Lyon said.

“We see this as a valuable opportunity, not only for the young people that have applied, but certainly for all the players involved, as well.

“It’s a real opportunity for them to grow and impart knowledge and take a genuine care and interest in something outside of themselves."

The program offers participants a rare opportunity to develop skills and behaviours that can deliver long-term benefits to the individual and their local community.

Over the next week, these young participants will be partnered with the eight player mentors as they participate in sessions from health and nutrition through to leadership, media training and communication skills, all of which can be taken back to their communities and passed on to their peers.

The 2014 players mentors are Chris Mayne, Zac Clarke, Colin Sylvia, Tommy Sheridan, Hayden Crozier, Nick Suban, Paul Duffield and Stephen Hill.

This year’s program includes a record four female participants, following on from 2013, when two females took part in Live the Dream.