Disney movie unfolding in Mirrabooka
Joe Moniodis doesn’t need to switch on the television to witness a ‘Disney moment’, he sees them all the time, and the stars are an Australian Rules Football team of 17 newly arrived young people who are taking to the field with a much bigger purpose than winning.
10 June 2010
Joe is the Edmund Rice Centre Multicultural Sports and Leadership Coordinator, and is one of the people behind the Edmund Rice Centre Lions team formed in March.
The team features three AFL World Team players, is coached and captained by the Sports Team of the Edmund Rice Centre Mirrabooka Youth Leadership Group and supported by the likes of the WA Football Commission, the Department of Sport and Recreation, City of Stirling and the Office of Multicultural Interests.
Members of the team have been busy not only training, but also serving their community as role models and coaching AFL clinics for younger people in the community.
The Head Coach and Captain of the ERC Lions are brothers Atot and Lwal Amoly, who are from Sudan and lived in Eqypt before coming to Australia in 2005. At age 17, Atot has already worked his way into the role of Head of the Sports Team of the Youth Leadership Group and is highly respected by his peers.
“From the start it has been a difficult project that has taken lots of time and has been stressful at times,” Atot said. “I remember the first session when we had very few people but as people found out about it, we slowly started to get more players.
“My coaching philosophy is to attend as much as I can, prepare as well as I can, bring them together and encourage them.
“I want them to train hard, believe they can win and to know that I’m always there for them.”
Lwal agrees the mission has at times been challenging.
“It’s difficult to get multicultural youth to play footy because they have the skills and natural fitness but haven’t had the chance,” Lwal said.
“Captaining the team is a great opportunity for me to improve my leadership skills. I appreciate being given the chance to captain the team.”
Vice Captain Peter Ajang, also born in Sudan before moving to Kenya in 1994, and then on to Australia in 2006, plays for the Under 16s AFL World Team and has shown a natural rapport with the young people.
Peter joined the Lions to meet people from different cultures and to be part of the community.
“When I first got here, all of my friends were into soccer and the ERC Lions was a good chance to try something new and to bring AFL into multicultural communities,” Peter said.
“Being part of a community team and helping to run footy clinics gave me a chance to meet kids from different backgrounds and play with them and teach them how to play AFL so that when they grow up they will have a choice in their lives.”
Joe said the goal was to improve the leadership qualities of young people in the Mirrabooka community – which with a large migrant population is one of the most culturally diverse localities in the state – through football training and a leadership development program, and to integrate these young people into their community.
“This is very much a youth-run program that is all about empowering these young people to take on these roles, and in doing so we are empowering them to change any situation they may come across in their lives for the better,” Joe said.
But the blockbuster is still to come. The team will play against the Eastern Hills Hawks Football Club on Saturday 12th June at Des Penman Memorial Reserve in Nollamara starting at 9am.
“The progression of the group in both a football context and leadership capacity has overwhelmed all involved with this group of boys,” said WAFC Multicultural Coordinator Russell Higgins. “This partnership is one that will continue to foster multicultural AFL players for many years to come. We all look forward to this youth-led group showcasing their skills on the 12th June.”
Joe hopes the players will receive a Disney-style welcome, and that local supporters will turn out in droves to provide a huge home ground atmosphere for the Big Match, which the team has been training toward for the past 14 weeks.
“The Edmund Rice Centre Lions is not just a football club, it’s a community club,” Joe said.
“Working with the team, you go through all these Disney-type moments, with the highs and lows, but you keep working at it and building and suddenly the kids who are playing are attracting the ones who aren’t playing.
“To see it in action, you recognise the seeds of something that could be really big. We could have future ambassadors for football coming out of this team.”
Local community members are urged to get behind the team by turning up to watch the Big Match.
“From the start when I have thought about the match, I’ve had this idea in my mind that I want them to make a Disney movie out of this, with heaps of people coming to cheer on our players, and scenes of them running out on to the field and the younger kids looking up to them and cheering them on,” Joe said. “That’s the ideal vision, and I hope everyone will come down to the Big Match and see how the story ends.”
The team is seeking sponsorship for its Big Match. If you can help, please contact Joe on 9440 0625 or 0417 923 873 or email ercyouthleaders@gmail.com.
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