They have been friends for years and their set of skills, although different, complement each other to provide a complete package through Game Plan Coaching, a programme they set up Years to 10 to 12 students meet and overcome the stresses and pressures of their final years of high school.

The company was founded by two long-time friends, Jim Drossos and Yiorgs Sgourakis in September, 2019, and despite the huge obstacle that COVID-19 created, Game Plan was able to adapt quickly to the online environment and has been able to pick things up again as the restrictions started to ease.

Mr Sgourakis, Game Plan’s Director of Wellbeing Educational Psychologist, and Game Plan coach told Neos Kosmos that programme had recently drawn interest from Singapore.

The two men help students come to grips with the requirements of the curriculum and help them to adopt the tools that will help them to cope with the stresses and strains that the final year brings and for life beyond.

READ MORE: Yo-yoing restrictions putting pressure on year 12 students and their teachers

“We teach you what to learn and how to learn it. Game Plan was something I had been thinking about for a while. As a Years-11 and -12 maths teacher (for 15 years), I could see the stress building up over exams with some of the children being overwhelmed by it. I saw that we had to put out something out of the classroom that was not just about the learning,” said Mr Drossos, is the company’s Director of Learning; Methods Webinar Coordinator; and Game Plan Coach.

“Yiorgs saw this as well and we created the Game Plan programme in 2019. Year 12 is increasingly becoming a big deal- the Year 12 scores are over-played and the kids get so worked up, the parents add to the pressure and some become very stressed and overwhelmed.

“You may not remember what you learned in Year 12, but the skills that are developed to cope with the pressure are something that you can use in life,” he said.

“The kids today can’t keep up with the demands of school and society as they are faced with more choices (than we did when we were growing up),” Mr Drossos said.

Mr Drossos had come with the idea for Game Plan and Mr Sgourakis saw that the programme could also help students to acquire life skills that would also help them cope with the challenges and stresses of life beyond school.

“After school (is over) there are all sorts of life’s stresses but you cannot fall back on teachers. We look at the importance of organising and developing positive healthy routines. We are big believers in self-care – to implement plans to maintain in life,” Mr Sgourakis said.

“We look beyond the requirements of the work and try to push the idea that the more you put into yourself, the better and more efficient you become. We want the kids to look after themselves or they will reach a point where they will crash.

“You need to maintain a balance between work, physical activity and socialising. Year 12 is a marathon not a sprint.”

Some pointers that he offered were for students to take 10 minute breaks every hour during their studies to move around, stretch, go out into the fresh air .

He advised to go out into the sun as the Vitamin D gained was very beneficial for them.

“Listen to music or chat to the family or a friend. Treat the break from the work as a reward for 50 minutes of study. And when you take a break, stay off the device, tech-free breaks are important,” Mr Sgourakis said.

The experience of COVID-19 from March 2020 threatened the newly created company, but it also forced it to adapt fast to an online presence.

“None of us were fans of what happened, but it pushed us to evolve to other projects and to go more online  with help from Issac Buratto and Jack Avro, who are an integral part of our team who helped us keep in touch with the technology.”

Game Plan developed online live lessons and are set to resume free podcasts designed to help students with their work.

Mr Drossos said the COVID-19 experience had placed great stress on students.

“At first it was a novelty to learn from home, but all sorts of issues developed affecting their academic work and mental health.

“It took much of the first term to get the kids back to where they needed to be – better organised with their work and time, and learning to use resources effectively.

Jimmy Drossos and Yiorgs Sgourakis were studying at different universities when they first met in 1997. Mr Drossos was studying for Bcom/BSc and Mr Sgouraki was doing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. They became close friends; Mr Sgourakis was the best man at his friend’s wedding and is a godfather to one Mr Drossos’ children.

After he received is Education Diploma, Mr Drossos spent the next 15 years in teaching. Mr Sgourakis, worked for some years as a court registrar and used the experience and psychology qualifications to become a case manager for young offenders before returning to complete his post graduate degree in psychology and working over the past six years as a psychologist with the Department of Education and Training.

When not working, Mr Drossos, who played professional football for clubs like Heidelberg and Oakleigh, maintains his passion for the game.

Mr Sgourakis other passion is music. He is bass player for 1980s tribute band Powerstryde and has launched a band playing their own material called Empirical Prey which has released a song on Spotify.

♦For more information, visit the Game Plan Coaching website.