How Jake Pleming refused to let epilepsy quash his passion for sport

Pleming was a talented young tennis player who travelled around Australia and internationally for tournaments before he started having seizures aged 15.

Things got so tough that he quit the game and went into his shell, losing the spark and energy which had earmarked his early years.

But with his older brother Zack coaching Wodonga Saints, a link remained to the sporting world and Jake's life began to trend upwards again when he pulled on the Saints jumper and started heading down a new path.

But not only has Pleming regained so much of himself through the mateship at Les Cheesley Oval but the Saints have unearthed a real gem, with the 23-year-old right in the frame to be named senior best-and-fairest for 2023.

It's something he couldn't have dreamed of when the epilepsy first struck.

"I was doing tennis training four nights a week at the Margaret Court Tennis Academy at the time," he recalled.

"My coaches believed in me a lot - Phil Shanahan, Mark Shanahan and Jade Culph - but I got epilepsy when I was 15 and that was bad.

"Playing matches and having seizures on the court, it was embarrassing for me.

"Everyone around the court could see me doing weird things that shouldn't be done.

"I talked to Mum one night and told her I wanted to quit tennis."

The impact was mental as much as physical.

"He wouldn't go out in public," mum Nicole Pleming said.

"Depression set in, anxiety, his speech was affected, everything.

"It was a case of trying to regather who he was.

"When he was taken to Melbourne, he had two different varieties of seizures they picked up and we didn't even know.

"When I look back now, as a mother, I always thought it was a male thing, how he ignored Mum when I asked him to do something.

"But it turns out he was having seizures and we couldn't even see. No-one knew.

"He was going to school and we didn't know he was having seizures."

Pleming spent weeks in hospital in Melbourne and it looked like sport was no longer an option for him.

"Jake was full of energy before it all happened, you couldn't slow him down," Zack said.

"It was hard for us older brothers trying to keep up with him but once it all took place, it knocked him back a few pegs.

"It was tough to watch his tennis take a hit and from being a very outgoing, loud person, who you couldn't keep quiet, to watch the impact of that happen took a lot out of him.

"I know tennis was definitely a big part of him growing up and he was trying to make something of it but this just came out of the blue."

Jake's withdrawal was understandable.

"Going out in public, if I had a seizure in front of everyone, I didn't want to embarrass Mum or my family," he said.

"It was hard."

Nicole wasn't prepared to accept the gloomy prognosis, however.

"It was heart-breaking and I felt helpless, that I couldn't do anything," she said.

"Every time he got taken by ambulance back into hospital, they just changed his medication and sent him on his way.

"But I could see him struggling so I said 'no, this is not it.'

"Every time we went to a doctor or a psychologist, I wouldn't leave the office unless there was an acceptable outcome for him. I never took no for an answer.

"All the doctors said 'you can't do this or that' but one doctor turned around and said 'let's focus on what he can do.'

"We got him through Year 12, which was a big thing.

"It took a lot of effort to get him through Year 12, just going to school sometimes for a couple of hours at a time and then I'd get him and bring him home.

"Eventually we got through Year 12 and that was a big celebration!

"I'm so proud because he's accomplished a lot."

But it wasn't just at school where Jake was making strides.

A former Mitta United junior, he joined Wodonga Saints towards the back end of 2018 and eventually made his senior debut in 2021 when sport resumed after the COVID shutdown.

He's now played 41 games in the top tier of the Tallangatta & District League and is one of the first names on the team sheet each week.

"The guys there were so nice," Jake said.

"They knew I was Zack's brother and the little nicknames they gave me just made me smile.

"When I was in the twos, I was a very scared kid, I hated going against the bigger guys.

"But Zack gave me a chance to play seniors, he liked what he saw and I had a really big pre-season. It's probably the fittest I've been and I knew if I could do that on the track, I could take it into a game on Saturday.

"I've enjoyed it a lot, especially being under Zack and with my cousins here too."

Jake has been named in the Saints' best players on 10 occasions this season.

"It's massive," Zack said.

"When he first walked through the door, he was very shy and timid.

"But that's the great thing about football clubs, they can bring out the best in people and I believe it's gone above and beyond for him.

"You don't realise the person he was back to then to where he is now, it's light years apart so I'm very proud of where he is today in his work life as well as his football.

"That's something he can be very proud of, especially as a brother getting to coach him. It can be tough at times, coaching family members, but he's always willing to learn and ask questions so I can't wait to see what the next few years hold for him.

"He's definitely one I can rely on to perform his role every week but he's a better person now so I'm even more proud of that."

Wodonga Saints host Rutherglen in their final game of the season on Saturday.

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