Catherine Ioannidis found her love for football when she hit her double digits.
The 19-year-old hasn’t looked back since and has been carrying on her father’s legacy of playing for Heidelberg United, but doing it even better.
“I think I might have started when I was ten and I played for a couple of different clubs. I played for Keilor Park before the NPL and Spring Hills and when I was around 14 I came to Heidelberg when the NPL started and since then I haven’t left. So I’ve remained very loyal to the club,” Ioannidis told Neos Kosmos.
The young winger is on her second year with the seniors and has been chasing the silverwear ever since she started with the historically Greek team.
“It was a big step up from normal Sunday league soccer so it was really good to make it into an NPL team in general. It was very exciting when that happened…Prior to that I had going up and down between the 19s and seniors which I’m still sort of doing now. I’m one of the younger ones so I’ve still got a lot of room for improvement,” she said.
Sports aside, Ioannidis has a strong creative streak and is currently finishing up a Bachelor of Design, hoping to also leave her mark off the pitch too.
“It’s what I’m interested in outside of sport. There’s always that in the back of your mind as well, the whole ‘should I do a sports medicine’ or anything like that, but I found myself really drawn to the uni I was planning on going to and as soon as I did my interview there, I knew that’s where my heart lied for what kind of work I wanted to go into,” she said.
Sure, the workload can be a lot to juggle but who better to guide you than yiayia and pappou, who for the football player are only a few steps away.
“My grandparents have probably had one of the greatest impacts on my life. I always look up to them and what they have to say to me. They live up the street from me so they see me every day. They’re always giving me little pointers and that’s really important to me.”
Ioannidis gives us a peek into her favourite post match meal, talks staying consistent and the importance of self confidence.
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What drew you to football?
It was probably my dad really who drew me to football because he also played for Heidelberg when he was young. He always wanted a son that was going to play, but unfortunately my brother wasn’t going to follow in those footsteps and I stepped up to that role.
I ended up loving it a lot more than what my brother did.
It’s game day, what do you do to get in the zone before the match?
I try and get myself into a good headspace. I always listen to music, it the number one thing. When I’m concentrating on anything I like to have calming music for a bit and then getting into music that will really get me going.
There’s nothing in particular that I do prior to a game other than getting there on time. I’m really funny with time management, I like to be there early rather than late. Other than that I don’t have any other little quirks.
Top 3 training songs?
It always changes, but I do have a playlist and it’s a lot of UK rap. There’s a song called Commitment Issues by Central Cee and also by him another called Day in the Life and Buss It by Erica Bank and Travis Scott.
What do you find most challenging about the game?
Always being consistent in yourself and always keeping up your skills are some of the most challenging things. Day to day life can get really difficult and get in the way quite easily. It’s hard to maintain and juggle it all.
In actual games, always defending an attacker is probably the hardest thing to do because if they’re just that tiny bit quicker than you it’s really hard to get back and drop into that defending role.
What has been a highlight in your sporting career thus far?
My highlight would probably be being at Heidelberg for such a long time and being able to develop myself as a player through all the age groups and end up in the senior team.
How has football impacted your life?
It’s really good for my mental health to be honest. I find life in general is very stressful with school and uni and all of that and it’s a really good escape. It brings a lot of happiness to me, it gives me that break from everything else.
What is something you learned about yourself through playing the game?
Probably that if I have confidence in myself I will play a lot better than if I don’t. Believing in myself will push me to that next level. Obviously no one’s perfect, but there’s been times where if I haven’t been 100 percent confident in myself I’ve slipped up or something’s gone wrong.
What do you hope to achieve in the next year?
Within sports I’m planning on playing in the NPL as much as I can and I really just want to stay with Heidelberg, I don’t want to go anywhere else because I love the environment that we’re in there.
Outside of that, I finish my uni course this year so I’m planning on hopefully getting a job next year, full-time so that will ease my mind a little bit. It’s a bit ‘full on’ at the moment which is probably why I’m struggling to juggle everything so I just can’t wait for it to be finished.
What’s something someone might be surprised to learn about you?
Probably that I’m really creative. A lot of people don’t know until I get a lot closer to them and then they see that side of me.
I’m definitely split in the middle…The sporty side of it comes from my dad but the artistic, creative side comes from my mum and my brother.
Favourite way to unwind after a game?
Definitely eating a souvlaki at Heidelberg. 110 percent would have to be that. It’s called a Billy’s special and it is a chicken souvlaki, there’s chips in there, salad, mustard and I get chili flakes in mine with tzatziki.
What are you most looking forward to in 2021?
I’m looking forward to really progressing and making sure I get on the team sheet as much as possible whether that be starting or on the bench for seniors.
What is something you want to be remembered by?
Everyone wants to be knows as a good player and everything like that but I just want to be remembered by something like ‘oh that was that girl that was always smiling and she was always really bubbly nd funny and laughing’. I feel like a lot of the time that’s what I am.
What do you think is the greatest misconception of women in sport?
That women aren’t on the same level that men. There a lot of women that definitely could play against men and or on the same level as men can.