Stratos Tzanoudakis has made a great impact in the community through his work across schools and community sporting clubs in Brimbank over his lifetime, as he tells Max Hatzoglou
What is your connection to Brimbank?
My Parents migrated from Greece in the late 1950’s and I spent the first eight years of my life living in the inner city suburbs of Carlton, Richmond and Abbotsford. We purchased our family home in Ardeer in 1968. I am the eldest of four children and was initially devasted by the news that we were leaving friends to move to a “bush” town I had never heard of. It was like moving from the city to the country as our new house had Kororoit Creek and the surrounding paddocks as part of our local environment. We went from a predominantly Greek and Italian neighbourhood to one of incredible diversity with most of Europe represented in the postcode. My initial devastation was quickly replaced by some of the happiest and most enduring memories of my childhood and teenage years. Our local school was incredibly welcoming and we spent hours after school, on the weekends down the creek with friends, building cubby houses, launching rafts, riding horses, finding, frogs, lizards, tadpoles and even the odd Tiger snake. During the school holidays we were there all day every day until the street lights came on to signal we had to go home for dinner. We purchased our current home in 1988 and myself, wife and two sons have been been residents of central Sunshine for the last 30 odd years. We have watched the central hub and the local area undergo enormous transformation over that time. One thing I have never got used to was the outnumbering of us Collingwood supporters by Doggies fans here in the West.
What is your favourite place to visit in Brimbank?
There are many places that I take great pleasure in visiting in Brimbank. Aside from the Kororoit Creek trail I enjoy walking around the Sunshine City Centre which is now a vibrant and exciting mix of many cultures that have taken root here. The diverse food choices and quality eateries at our disposal are fantastic. We are lucky to live near many local gardens and reserves which has been beautifully maintained and they are great places for a walk or just sitting on a bench and admiring the plant life.
You have been involved in community sport, particularly soccer, in Brimbank for over 30 years, can you tell us what you enjoy about it?
I played sport and have held various coaching and administrative roles at a number of local clubs forming lifelong friendships many of whom I still see now. Being a PE teacher, sport has always been a very important part of my life. I love the connections that sport creates with people. There are so many skills that particularly team sports teach us which translate to all aspects of our lives. I think it is important that we give back to the community by volunteering our time to ensure that sporting clubs continue to thrive.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey in teaching and what you have been able to achieve?
My life in education started after I graduated from University as a PE teacher in 1981 and began working locally at schools throughout the municipality which continues to this day. At various times I have worked at the following primary schools, Ardeer South, Sunshine, St Albans South, Dinjerra and Footscray West. I still come into contact with students from many years ago and its great to hear their stories and what they are doing in their lives. I have taught the children and in one case grandchildren of ex students and the fact that I am still teaching PE at this late stage of my career is very fulfilling. I certainly appreciate the fact that I have been very lucky to work in an area I feel very passionate about. As far as achievements go the one thing that sticks out is the redevelopment of the Sunshine Heights Junior Soccer Club. This proud and famous club was suffering from extremely poor facilities and was struggling to get teams together in no small part due to its lack of volunteers and dilapidated conditions at Castley Reserve in the early 2000’s. Through the outstanding joint work of five local families over five years and support from council and state government funding the facility nowadays is a modern sports ground which attracts local kids and is a central hub in the community. Sunshine Heights JSC has developed an affiliation with Western Suburbs SC and, by working together, are fostering a program of cooperation and mutual support in these difficult Covid affected times.
