Braybrook Secondary College physical education teacher Con Lekakis has received recognition for more than 25 years of supporting the school community and beyond as a football coach.
He received the award for the Male Community Coach of the Year at the 2022 Football Victoria Community Awards on Friday, October 7.
Lekakis said football has always been a uniting force for his students across cultural and language barriers.
“The point of contact has always been football,” he said.
Lekakis said recently a group of refugees from Myanmar had arrived at school and football broke down the cultural barriers.
“From relationship building, great things grow,” he said.
Lekakis said from his relationships as a teacher to students from Sudanese and south east Asian communities have blossomed into more, with him being asked to coach teams outside of the school environment.
“I am like a coach to hire,” he said.
Lekakis said it was a surprise to be nominated and receive the award for his achievements.
“It’s actually quite nice to be acknowledged,” he said.
Football Victoria diversity and inclusion head Nick Hatzoglou said the community awards celebrated the achievements of all of the people who contributed to community sport.
“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,” he said.
Other award recipients on the evening included the Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association, which won the award for the Partner Organisation of the Year, which provides a socially cohesive, safe and fun football environment for Melbourne’s diverse community to enjoy.
Matthew Sims
