Football Victoria (FV) would like to congratulate Con Lekakis on being awarded 2022 Male Coach of the Year at the 2022 FV Community Awards.
The physical education teacher at Braybrook Secondary College has made a huge impact on the youth in his region by using football as a vehicle to enhance the lives of students and the wider community.
Lekakis said he felt “a bit special” receiving the award at the Football Victoria Full-Time CIB event on October 7.
“It is definitely a nice acknowledgement for all of the hard work I have put in, which was nice,” he said.
“For me, the award is nice and all but the fact that Maria (Petrides) has taken the time to share my story is the special bit of all this
“On Friday afternoon I am usually getting ready for class, but to get into some special gear, to have a glass of wine and accept an award in front of Graham Arnold, the Matilda contingent and all the guests on the day was pretty cool, it was quite lovely.”
Lekakis said his school and the wider community have shown plenty of admiration since receiving his award.
“Some of my students have found out and they have wanted to see some photos and the local paper called me yesterday and interviewed me, I feel like people are getting a little bit carried away now,” he said.
“Everyone has been wonderful, my family, my colleagues with people telling me it was well overdue.
“I have been doing this for 27 years, I just do what I do and don’t expect the recognition.”
Football means everything to Lekakis, calling Brunswick City Soccer Club home for most of his life.
“I pretty much did everything at the club,” he explained.
“I played my juniors there, captained the seniors, coached seniors, U13s, and the club’s first women’s team.
“I just love football; I am a tragic in many ways; it has given me everything from friendship groups to the passion and the skillset I have today.”
The P.E teacher decided to be involved at the community level instead of at a club because he thought there were more marginalised groups in the western suburbs with refugees and non-English speaking migrant groups that I thought could benefit most from my expertise
“There are many ways that you can help communities through football,” he said.
“It started in the late 1990’s with our Sudanese and Somali students and then it progressed through Vietnamese and now we have Burmese and Iranian and Iraqi kids come through the school.
“Football has been the constant for those groups, as soon as they come into our school they gravitate towards our synthetic pitch where the games happen, and you’ll find me there observing and joining in sometimes.
“As soon as they see me joining in their football games it breaks down that barrier and then they think they can trust this guy.
“Football is a fantastic segway into having an impact on the student’s schooling.”
Lekakis said it was a pretty easy answer why he was described as having the “warmest heart”.
“I always take it back to the bare fundamentals with me as a kid or my children,” he explained.
“If my child was sitting in my class or if I was coaching my child, what would I want their experience to be like?
“It doesn’t matter how tired you are or what else is going on, for that moment when you have that child in front of you, I try to make it as memorable of an experience as I can make it.
“Whenever a student asks for anything extra I just go and do it because if that allows the child to be connected to me a little bit more, which impacts their decision-making regarding their education and life then it’s a win-win.”
Maria Petrides, who nominated Lekakis for the award said it was hard to put into words what an “amazing” role model he is and how much he is loved by the students and community.
“His commitment, resourcefulness, and enthusiasm allows everyone that meets him to feel wanted to be respected and valued through his soccer programs and coaching,” she said.
“He will give up his personal time to make a difference to help our youth connect with others through soccer.
“Soccer has become an integral part of the school curriculum. He runs an extensive soccer program for boys and girls, promoting personal development and respectful relationships. “
“Con's experience is the perfect formula for creating a very celebrated and inclusive soccer program at our school and in our community.
Through his strong links with the Burmese and African communities, he was invited to coach the Cin Vakok team as part of the Melbourne Unite Cup, as well as in League A as part of the Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association. He has also coached three Burmese Teams in Unite Cup and Albion Thunder Soccer Hub.
Head of Diversity and Inclusion Nick Hatzoglou said Lekakis was awarded the 2022 Male Coach of the Year because tirelessly gives up his time to bring people together through football.
"Con is a deserving winner of the award, he believes football can unite communities,” he said.
"The community awards give us the chance to spotlight a handful of deserving volunteers, however, we would also like to acknowledge all the other hard-working volunteers of our football family who put in the hard yards every season."
Lekakis wanted to recognise Maria for nominating him for the award and two men who reignited a spark inside of him.
“I want to say a big thank-you to Nuredin Hassan, Simon Reynolds, and Tyrone James for their amazing work with the local Albion community,” he said.
“I met them through my Burmese students who then graduated and then started engaging with Albion Thunder Community Hub which is a wonderful organisation out in the western suburbs.
“As an older person it is harder to find inspiration, but these two young men have been exceptional for the community. They are the reason I got involved in the community hub and wanted to do more.”