Kicking goals for community sport

DEDICATED to the Victorian sporting community for nearly sixty years, Michael Cooper has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service.

Mr Cooper became secretary of the Darley Football Club at only 21-years-old and he has always been committed to supporting junior sport, a drive he said comes from not having opportunities when he was young.

“I would have relished the opportunity kids have today, particularly in Ballarat,” he said.

“On reflection my community service, in junior sport in particular, was influenced by the fact I never had the opportunities to participate myself.”

In the 1960s, the club’s football ground had no lights making if difficult for the team to train at night.

Mr Cooper took matters into his own hands, taking old flood lights from the bank he worked at and attaching them to poles.

“I got them in the backseat of my little car on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne and I took them home,” he said.

“Two or three of us got some poles and put them up and that gave me an opportunity to go home after work, have a meal, and at about 9 o’clock we could go out and have a run.”

In 2000, Mr Cooper become the financial director of Sebastopol Football Netball Club and his since wrote the History of Sebastopol Football Netball Club 1879-2022.

He said, when writing his book, it was remarkable to discover how many people were involved with the club in the region.

“There were thousands and thousands of people that have been involved with the sport and the opportunity to administer the sport,” said Mr Cooper.

“And they’re all volunteers, wonderful people, who have taken the opportunity to help.”