I joined the East Coburg Cricket Club when I was 19. Just completed VCE and in my first year at uni, I thought it was a great time to start playing at club level.

Now 10 years on, over 70 games played for the green and gold and a premiership in 2008-09 season, I look back and reminisce about the club as well as the people I’ve played with.

Being a local growing up in Coburg, I was half expecting to see little if any Greek or Italian people at East Coburg, with the majority being Anglo Australian’s.

I was very surprised to see the diversity of culture at the club, from a Greek/Cypriot President, European backgrounds, Anglo Australians, to many from sub-continent countries.

I thought this was amazing. To have such a diverse number of ethnicities blending in at the one place was brilliant.

The first thing I remember when arriving at East Coburg was the warm and friendly welcome I got from the players, none more so than from the President, George Georgiou.

He has enormous passion for the club, green and gold runs through his veins.

His determination to get the local and broader community involved with East Coburg is unbelievable.

Attention to detail is what George is all about and coupled with enthusiasm and a highly positive attitude, he doesn’t take no for an answer.

He is the heart and soul of the club and it is a privilege to be at East Coburg with him.

One of my first coaches at East Coburg was Mick Athanasiadis. His knowledge of cricket is vast and a perfect person to learn from.

A very relaxed person on and off the field Mick was instrumental in helping the club improve on field performances after a lean period in the past couple of years.

He took over as head coach and the club was heading in the right direction.

Mick’s experience as a player was apparent in his coaching.

A solid middle order batsman and fantastic slip fieldsman, he constantly strives to get the best out of each individual.

His work ethic as a player and coach is second to none, especially at weekly training.

There was a time for fun and games however when we were required to put our heads down and train hard,

Mick was there determined to see it through. He has been a pleasure to play alongside with and be coached by.

My time at East Coburg has allowed me to play with an array of talent and some great individuals, and none more so than Con Jordanidis. In my opinion, the clubs best batsman.

This was made apparent in our recent finals campaign in which he scored a match winning century in the semi final as well as 84 in the grand final.

A technically correct and highly talented batsman, he is the left handed answer to Mark Waugh.

He has a huge amount of patience and persistence and is not threatened by the opposition.

I have witnessed this first hand on many occasions.

Con brings a “never say die” attitude to the game and has the ability to lift others around him when the chips are down. These are qualities very few people possess on or off the field, and he has certainly been a massive influence in my cricketing career.

I take my hat off to all of those boys. They have made the batting, the fielding, the training and the practice over the last 10 years worthwhile and a lot of fun.