They say when one door closes another one opens, and that was certainly the case for Stella Vagenas who was forced to retire from indoor soccer following a car accident, which led to 20-years of service in the Touch Football community. Stella has made a tremendous impact on Touch Football in South Australia in both growing participation and building financial stability at Demons Touch.
As our Volunteer of the Month for July, we caught up with Stella to reflect on her journey in Touch Football, what she enjoys most about the sport and some of her proudest moments in her near two decades of volunteer service.
Can you tell us how you became involved in Touch Football?
At the time, I’d recently been in a car accident and had to stop playing indoor soccer. I still wanted to do something during the week to get me out of the house. As it turned out, Bill Sheeky (Demons Touch Club President) - who I worked with - was looking for someone to help with timekeeping and collecting money after games. Back then we used to collect $5 per player per game to play so I decided to help out where I could. I’m still involved with the affiliate today as a treasurer, and I also help out our regional team, the Northern Vipers.
I played a couple of seasons of Touch Football as well. I was lucky enough to be on a team that won a Grand Final - after that I retired!
What do you enjoy/love the most about Touch Football?
I love the social side of the game and how easy it is to get involved. There’s a real strong family connection at our affiliate with people playing alongside their friends and family. The junior competition has gone on for so long now that we’re starting to see kids come up and play in the senior comp with their Mum and Dad which is extremely rewarding.
You wear many hats? What element do you enjoy the most?
The role which I’ve spent the most time in is financial controller. I manage lot of the administration for fundraisers and grant applications which allows us to run the junior competition and support players and referees that get selected for regional and national events. We’ve done plenty of fundraisers over the years, such as bingo nights, to support the club and provide these representative opportunities.
The club is able to support the entire Touch Football journey from grassroots players and referees, all the way through to players who are able to represent South Australia which is fantastic.
I’ve also been involved with setting up and administering the junior competition and it’s been great to see it grow. We’re trying to promote Demons Touch as a family club, where you can have fun, and socialise. Being able to see juniors come in at a young age and then go on to play at the senior level has been a real highlight and is the reason we all volunteer.
What is your favourite memory or moment in the game?
A few years back we financed a trailer for the club, which we continue to use as a canteen and to promote Touch competitions. After several years of fundraisers, we were successful in receiving a $7,500 government grant which allowed us to purchase a trailer for the club which we use as a canteen and to promote the sport. We’ve hooked the trailer on the back of our car and taken it to places around South Australia to promote our competitions. We’ve even reached places such as Mount Gambier and Colley Reserve to help build awareness. Being able to finally get the funding for that and seeing it in use has been a proud moment of mine.
As well as that, anytime you see a player or referee rise through the ranks and represent the affiliate on a national level (The Championships, NYC) is also a great moment.
What have been the biggest advancements in the sport in your opinion?
At our affiliate, seeing the increase of referee participation has been great. Helping nurture young people in the referee space and seeing them rise up into the senior competition has been a huge positive. It would be remiss of me not to give a shoutout to Amanda Sheeky who has refereed at World Cups and Trans-TasmansTasman's is our Referee Coordinator and has really helped to grow and nurture this space.
Congratulations Stella and thanks again for your commitment and dedication towards our sport.
To recognise volunteers from your community please click here.
Discover more inspiring stories of previous volunteers of the month here.
