HE'S only 19 and a mere 38 games into a potentially brilliant NRL career, but Chris Lawrence dreams of the day he'll own an elite sports academy to rival the multimillion-dollar NSW Institute of Sport.

The Wests Tigers speedster takes his first step towards fulfilling that lofty goal in Campbelltown this week when the Chris Lawrence Sports Academy hosts a junior rugby league coaching clinic.

He'll conduct his first session on Wednesday morning at Eschol Park in Campbelltown - his old stamping ground as an Eagle Vale-St Andrews junior- and beginning next month he will run a series of one-hour private coaching clinics.

But league coaching is just the tip of the iceberg. Lawrence, who formed the LPW Fitness Group with university friend Craig Wakefield, has ambitions to eventually open a fully-fledged sporting academy that would rival the NSW Institute of Sport.

In the meantime he plans to help the next generation of players by passing on some hard-earned tips from his time as an NRL rookie.

"I would have loved the opportunity to go out with your mates to a day clinic to meet some first-graders when I was coming through," Lawrence told The Sun-Herald.

"I'm sure there were ARL camps but I never heard about them or got to go.

"I want to give kids the opportunity to have some fun in the school holidays, but it won't just be a day of games.

"Half the stations will be game-related to keep up the fun factor, but half will be about learning the skills; teaching kids at a young age to pass the ball and even kick it.

"A lot of kids are coached by their parents, who are well intentioned and are doing the best, but often the kids who get to [the Harold Matthews under-16 competition] have all the talent but not the skills.

"It's getting to the point where it's too late to teach them the fundamental skills they need.

"This is a way for parents to get the kids active and the kids will enjoy it."

Lawrence also plans to hold soccer clinics, athletics training and swimming tuition.

"My goal when I retire is to turn it into a mini academy covering all sports, and even the medical side of things," he said. "I want to eventually build it up for all sports - a south-west academy like a private NSW Institute of Sport.

"We'd like to eventually get our own base and field with indoor gym facilities and everything else we need. It's taking a bit of time to set up but I like to utilise my time; I don't like sitting around doing nothing."

Lawrence admitted he'll be relying on the knowledge he has gleaned from Tigers coach Tim Sheens.

"The way he's developed my skill and knowledge of the game has helped and will enable me to pass it onto the younger kids," he said.

Sheens, who indicated Lawrence is likely to shift from centre to five-eighth or lock as his career unfolds, hoped the coaching venture would improve his game.

"Chris is a pretty enterprising young fella and he's got his eyes on what he wants to do after he finishes his footy," Sheens said."You encourage these sort of things, they're relevant to what he's doing.

"I've always said you'd be a better player if you were a coach first. Teaching youngsters what to do reinforces that theory - doing a bit of coaching and bit of work with young people will hopefully help his own game.

"I applaud anything that keeps players occupied and gives them another stimulus."