Koletti spreading his magic at Gladesville
The Stroke Recovery Cup started in 2021 after Gladesville Ryde Magic board member, John Koletti, suffered a stroke in 2019 and wanted to make a difference for others who have suffered similar.
Koletti is the Member Protection Officer for Gladesville Ryde Magic’s youth and is also the Media Manager for the whole club.
Since suffering the stroke, Koletti has dedicated his time to educating others on stroke awareness, how to reduce the possibility of stroke and has created exercise videos which those who have suffered from stroke can utilise.
The Cup was created in 2021 after Koletti consulted with Gladesville Ryde Magic and Bankstown United FC aimed at promoting awareness of stroke, its symptoms, ways to reduce the possibility of stroke and recovery after stroke.
Koletti, a former school principal, founded the website strokerecovery.rehab, where he shares survivors’ stories, uploads exercise videos which survivors of stroke can use in their rehabilitation, access to experts in stroke, a support group and valuable resources which provide valuable information.
It also has strategies to reduce the possibility of stroke, mental health resources, general information on stroke and access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Koletti also founded the YouTube channel strokerecovery-rehab journeys, where Koletti shares his own story and the exercises he uses to help in his recovery.
The third iteration of the Cup was played on Saturday, March 25th at Christie Park in Macquarie Park.
Gladesville Ryde Magic had won the Cup on all previous occasions and was hoping to continue that streak, while Bankstown United FC was hoping to break their drought in the matchup.
However, the Magic did claim the 2023 Stroke Recovery Cup again with another victory over Bankstown United.
First-half strikes from Magic captain Chris Gaitatzis, 18-year-old Stefan Baker, and Kohki Hiyaoka saw them lead 3-1 at half-time after Mitchell Cross had scored for Bankstown.
Cross scored his double for Bankstown in the second half, as did Hiyaoka for the Magic, while Corey Freeman scored a consolation goal for Bankstown in stoppage time.
The Magic claimed the Cup once again, this time with a 4-3 victory.
The Cup’s Most Valuable Player, decided by three long-term members of the Magic’s Under-15 youth squad, was Chris Gaitatzis.
“The aim of the whole venture is, if we can help one person with their stroke recovery journey or help one family gain a better understanding of what one member of their family is going through, then all our combined efforts are worthwhile,” Koletti said.
Leading up to the match each year, Gladesville Ryde Magic promote the match through their social channels, while they also share important resources on stroke recovery.
“Over the last three years, we’ve raised some money [to] donate equipment to St. George Hospital and we’ve helped over one hundred people with their stroke recovery,” Koletti said.
“These are people from all over the world; from England, America, Nigeria, but mainly from Australia.”
Koletti explained one of the inspiring stories he had encountered through this venture over the past few years.
“There was a gentleman who suffered a stroke thirteen years ago and he gave up all type of exercise about six years ago, thinking ‘this is as far as I can go, I don’t want to do it anymore’,” Koletti said.
“Then he saw the story about the Stroke Recovery Cup, and he reached out to me and by showing some of the videos I had created, he decided to give it a go.
“I got him to go to the gym that I was exercising at and now he comes three days a week; he’s got a more positive attitude about his rehab and he’s starting to appreciate the small progression rather than just waiting for the big progression.
“Then when he looks back, he can see how much progression he’s actually made.
“Because it happened twelve years ago, his progression will be slow, and he is appreciating that now.”
Koletti said he thought of the initial idea for the Cup while he was in hospital, where other clubs, players, coaches, referees, and the rest of the football community visited him.
“I just thought it would be a great way to share the message with the football community,” Koletti said.
“So that was the idea of mixing something that I love [in] football plus something that was important to me, which was the stroke rehab and the opportunity to help other people.
“I went from being a principal of a school full of self-importance, wrongly, but I was in an important role… and the next minute, I was a vegetable laying in bed, paralysed down the left-hand side.”
The stroke and the recovery since have changed Koletti’s mind about the importance of football, not only for him but also how it can help others.
“I find now that football is more important than ever,” Koletti said.
“It used to be a sport that I like, but now it’s a vehicle for sharing a very important message.
“The response from Gladesville Ryde Magic and Bankstown United has been sensational.”
Bankstown United FC head coach Scott Belgre said he is proud to be a part of the Cup each year.
“[The] Stroke Recovery Cup is a fantastic initiative organised by Gladesville Ryde Magic to raise awareness for stroke and stroke victims,” Belgre said.
“This is the third year our club has been involved and it is due to some mutual links between both clubs within the community.
“As a club, we are proud to be part of this cause and support John Koletti in his efforts to raise this important awareness.
“There is a healthy respect and rivalry between both clubs since we began playing each other in 2019.”
Koletti explained what the future of the event holds for those going through stroke recovery.
“We have plans moving forward to demonstrate a walking football [match] with people who have gone through stroke recovery, be it in wheelchairs or walking frames, whether they’re fully able or disabled, it doesn’t matter,” Koletti said.
“Instead of passing the ball, you throw the ball, who cares? You’re still involved in a game…”
Koletti is highly involved with the whole club, from the seniors to the youth; he takes the youth on tours of Greece regularly to learn about the culture and have football lessons.
“[It is a] two-week tour [with] a mixture of culture, as well as going to the Olympiacos complex and being coached by their elite youth coaches to get an idea of what football is away from Australia,” Koletti said.
“So besides that, [the members do] whatever needs to be done… we’re a small committee, a small group of volunteers.
“The biggest pleasure we get, and we’re getting it this year, is watching our youth players progress.
“[In] first grade [this year], we’ve had six so far go through our youth systems, go to the eighteens, some jump the twenties straight into the first [grade].”
Koletti explained how the club wants to develop the youth players to progress in their careers, whether that be with them or with a scholarship in America or even for them to be picked up by National Premier League clubs.
“One of them is Nicholas Drummond, he played in our youth system, then went to Northern Tigers, came back to us last year, loved the club but had the desire to play in a higher league; we gave him our blessing and said, ‘there’s always a home for you here’,” Koletti said.
“He is with Hakoah at the moment, but he comes and watches our training, sometimes comes to our games and that’s what we like to do, this community.
“As long as they have ambition, follow their ambition and are good people, we’re quite willing to take [them] back.”
The Stroke Recovery Cup is a match the players want to play in each year and the education among the first grade and youth squads is important.
Speaking before the match, Koletti explained how important it is for the players to take part in.
“The players are fighting for a position in the Stroke Recovery Cup, it’s something that they wait a year to play,” Koletti said.
“We’ve got about six [youth] players that are fighting with the more established players for a position in the starting line-up, so that leads to competition amongst the players [and] more intense training.
“But at the end, if someone makes the team and someone [else] doesn’t, there’s disappointment but there’s no negativity ‘cause they know they’ll get an opportunity.
“If you are good enough, it doesn’t matter what age you are, we’ll play you in first grade.”
Koletti spoke about the initiatives from the two clubs and how they align to provide the opportunity for education and further discussion surrounding stroke and stroke recovery.
“The initiatives are the same; we all share our messages to the community and the idea is to get the community to come to the game,” Koletti said.
“At the game, we have messages on our scoreboards and there’s discussions within the team.
“The idea is that we are the instigators of a communication process.
“We’re not experts, we don’t aim to be experts, we are the people who have gone through stroke and are sharing our experience.”
The Cup has grown in the brief time it has existed, both in participation in the community and people reaching out.
“I’ve seen an increase in people reaching out… but the biggest increase is the number of people attending the game, the number of young people attending the game.
“I think that’s our biggest bonus, if the younger kids get an idea of what stroke is, what the symptoms are, the way to try and reduce the possibility of it happening, that’s a great starting point.”
Koletti explained why raising awareness through the match is so important to him, personally.
“When I had a stroke, I was at my lowest point because I had no idea what was going on,” Koletti said.
“I was laying in bed, not able to move my left side and mentally, I was in a dark space.
“If you can reduce that anxiety in people, what we are doing is worth it.”
The cause means a lot to Koletti, who is immensely proud about what the match means in the context of the cause, raising awareness and helping others.
“The fact that two teams opposing each other have joined together in this initiative, which is bigger than football, to share the message and help their communities gain a greater understanding of stroke and all the other relative bits and pieces to do with stroke, I feel very proud about that.”
Speaking before the match, Koletti smiled as he talked about what he was hoping from the game, from a sporting point-of-view.
“The Magic WILL win!,” Koletti smiled.
In the end, Koletti was correct as the Magic claimed the Cup to remain unbeaten in the fixture since the Cup’s inception.
The two teams battled it out in a hard-fought affair at Christie Park but the real winner of the match was John Koletti’s cause in promoting information regarding stroke and all the initiatives he is promoting along with it.
In the end, football was the winner.
By Dylan Costa
