IN MEMORY OF MONIQUE LEZSAK

Today we remember the life of Monique Lezsak, whose life was tragically cut short 2 weeks ago. Monique was the much loved cousin of Boronia Hawks player and coach Stacey Peril.

Monique was the mother of 10-year old twins, she enjoyed bodybuilding, wanted to become a Police officer and had a huge amount of life in front of her. Our Women’s Squad wore white arm bands during their most recent games in memory of Monique, in support of Stacey and as a way to raise awareness of domestic and family violence.

Please consider donating to White Ribbon in memory of Monique. This charity undertakes primary prevention of domestic and family violence in communities, schools and workplaces across the country: www.whiteribbon.org.au/Support-Us/Make-A-Donation/In-Memory

Our thoughts are with all of Monique’s family today, in particular her children and Stacey.

If you, or someone you know, requires support with family or domestic violence please contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) 24-hours a day.


Learner Driving Course for Under 17’s

The Under 17.5 boys attended a METEC learner driving course last night which is an initiative through the EFNL.

METEC is METEC Driver Training located at 112 Colchester Rd, Bayswater North.

Thanks to Team Manager, Ellisa Schmidtke, who sent us some pics and a report on the night:

“Great opportunity for these young men tonight. They were super impressive with the way they represented the club, and no doubt they all learnt a lot and have a new found appreciation of what it takes to get behind the wheel.”


PLAY 4 BCNA

Today, Saturday 20 May, our players, coaches and supporters don pink to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer Network Australia.

It’s safe to say that most of us have known someone affected by breast cancer directly or indirectly. We wear pink with pride and our thoughts are with all those impacted by this illness.

We chose to wear pink a week later than most so we could come together with most of our teams playing at home. We’ll also have some teams wearing pink again next week for an extra show of support when our Vets & Masters play.

2023 Hawka Golf Day at Waterford Valley

It’s time to gather up your team for our annual golf day at Waterford Valley Golf Course, proudly supported by our major sponsor Ferntree Gully Nissan.

There’ll be 18 holes of Ambrose Golf in teams of 4, with lunch snack and dinner & drinks (2 hours) to follow. There’ll also be plenty of prizes and awards throughout the day to keep things interesting.

Check out all the details below and then book via our store: boroniahawks.square.site/shop/Events/16

If you need a team, please reach out to Greg Hannon at ghannon@scopus.vic.edu.au

Hole Sponsorships are also available.


Returning to team sport after childbirth

Boronia Hawks are featured with a nice photo in this week’s edition of “A Note from Leisure”, the informative newsletter from Knox City Council’s Suranga Dissakarunaratne, Leisure Services Officer.

Joint Training Day

“Playing for team motherhood”: Returning to team sport after childbirth

“Motherhood and a decrease in physical activity participation often go hand in hand. Specifically, early motherhood is a time when women have some of their lowest rates of sport participation. This is a problem, because during the postnatal period (up to 1 year after giving birth) women are at high risk of drastic weight gain, postpartum depression, isolation and anxiety. While physical changes that affect sport participation are well-addressed, how postnatal women re-engage in sport is also affected by gendered expectations accompanying motherhood. These expectations include gender roles dictating how mothers “should” behave. Another expectation is intensive mothering, that is, the expectation that mothers must prioritize their child’s needs over their own. These expectations both decrease mothers’ physical activity levels and also weaken their emotional and physical well-being”. Learn more……..


A Christmas Message from Flash

To all players, volunteers, supporters and officials

On behalf of the senior committee, I’d like to wish everyone a restful and enjoyable summer break. Our club, like all clubs, has survived two extraordinary years that we could never plan for. Our club is in a great place thanks to the tireless work of our Board, Committees, Coaches and a loyal and dedicated playing group.

My New Year’s wish is for an uninterrupted season, we all deserve that! Surely that’s not too aspirational!!!!! I feel so sorry for the teams that had premiership hopes for this season. It is what it is but it’s still shattering for our coaches and players!

The behind the scenes work our coaches have done to ensure the well being of our players will never be fully realised, but I know what they have done and greatly appreciate their incredible efforts in keeping our players healthy. We are truly blessed to have the quality of coaches we do have in both football programs and our club is just so grateful for your work, kindness and dedication.

Our football managers in Karen, Ash and Wrighty don’t stop. We are always working at improving our lists and we are quietly confident that our lists for 2022 will be strong and be able to compete in what is looking like really even and competitive divisions for our male and female teams.

The senior club is already busy planning for events such as our first Presidents Luncheon. David “The Ox” Schwartz is our first speaker, with Luckmans Catering already locked in! Our Corporate Golf Day at the magnificent Eastwood Golf Club is being managed by Hollywood, and Leanne Rech is project managing our 90th Birthday Celebration Dinner which promises to be huge! Phil, Sammi, Wayne and Grant did a great job with our Christmas Fun Run and Nath Allen is planning a huge season of incredible social events!!!

A special thank you to Bomma and Leanne for managing our highly successful Hawks Nest Coterie. The work you do in building a cohesive community of past players and supporters is difficult to measure, but it is massive!!!!

Our incredible grants team led by Kerryn Westcott has secured a number of grants that will pay for things such as a new bain marie, new ice machine, iPads and a new fridge freezer. We also have nets being installed behind the goals at the club house end of the ground over summer.

We cannot run a club the size of Boronia without our dedicated volunteers. I sincerely thank you all. You are the lifeblood of our club and you are all the very best of people! If you are thinking of getting on board to help out, just ask and we will welcome you with open arms! We know we have to share the load and we are delegating more tasks than ever before as we can’t afford to burn out good people!

All in all, the club is in a good place. We have solid and meaningful direction across all leadership groups from Coterie to Playing Leadership Groups to Coaches to Committees to the Board. I wish all volunteers, all players and supporters a great Christmas and I’ll see you back down at the club in the new year.

Greg “Flash” Hannon, Senior President

Introducing the BHFNC Youth Mental Health First Aid Team

Thank you to the volunteers from our Committees, Coaching Team, Playing Groups and Trainer Team who successfully completed a Youth Mental Health First Aid course with Mental Health First Aid Australia.

The course covered how to assist adolescents who are developing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis; where and how to get help; and how to provide first aid in a crisis situation.

With a focus on adolescents, our volunteer team members are available to assist anyone in our Club community including coaches, team managers, parents and players. If you would like to make contact please do so directly or through Kristan Wood (Woody), our Junior President on 0411 605 203 or via email kristan@allstaterefrigeration.com.au

  • Chloe Timms (Women’s Football Squad)
  • Danny Weston (Junior Coach and Junior Committee Member)
  • Gen Lyons (Women’s Football Squad)
  • Julie Allen (Player parent, U15 boys)
  • Lauren Porter (Auskick Assistant Co-ordinator and U9’s Team Manager)
  • Kate Vangeninden (Head Trainer)
  • Rhiannon Crompton (Women’s Football Squad)
  • Sam Dunkinson (Junior Vice President, Auskick Co-ordinator and Fundraising Committee Member)
  • Stephen Little (Trainer)

We are very appreciative to the Knox City Council for the Community Development Fund 2020/2021 which funded this training and their ongoing provision of grants to support our Club community.

Thank you to Samantha Dunkinson for coordinating the training dates and requirements with the course provider. Thank you also to Karen Little, our Director, Community and Inclusion for her incredible work as our champion of mental health support within the Club.


COVID-19 Message from Scott Nicholas

Everyone around Victoria is currently in lockdown under Stage 4 restrictions. We all have a responsibility to do the right thing regarding the restrictions; we also have a responsibility to each other to stay safe, stay connected and stay positive.

We know a lot of our players, coaches, volunteers and families have already been impacted mentally and financially because of COVID-19, and many more will face hardship because of the new restrictions.

Let’s remember why this is in place, to ensure we all stay safe and healthy.

There has been a lot of discussion regarding mental health and wellbeing, and it’s a fantastic reminder for everyone with the Boronia community to prioritise their mental health.

Please look after yourselves, check in on each other, and be sure to connect with all of the great mental health services if you’re struggling to cope. You can check some out on the Wellbeing Hub on the Boronia Hawks website.

While many of us will face difficulties over the coming six weeks, there are some who may be is a less fortunate position and may struggle for basic necessities or a roof over their heads. If anyone from within the club is concerned about another club member please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.

We are in this together, and we will get through this together.

GO HAWKA.

Scott Nicholas, Chairman, BORONIA HAWKS FOOTBALL NETBALL CLUB INC.

Scott Nicholas, Club Chairman

TOM BOYD for MEN’S HEALTH WEEK

A FREE ON-LINE SESSION with TOM BOYD for MEN’S HEALTH WEEK: Wednesday 17 June from 7:30pm

Join a free online presentation with former AFL footballer Tom Boyd who will share his story of going from #1 draft pick to retirement within five years.

Boronia Hawks recommends this free on-line session to all. Given the challenging environment that we are living in today, here is a great opportunity for our members, volunteers and players to get an insight from someone who had to deal with such a high level of expectation and how he worked his way through the highs and lows.


A Message from OTLR: Welfare App

To OTLR’s sporting community,

Across sporting codes, we acknowledge COVID-19 has disrupted the sporting calendar at all levels. As restrictions and forced closures of facilities and businesses are implemented, along with social distancing and self-isolation regulations, we understand that all clubs have had to postpone Outside the Locker Room education sessions that were scheduled in the immediate future. It will be our priority to re-schedule these sessions with you at a time that is safe to do so.

Our welfare support, available via our mobile app or directly emailing our team at support@otlr.org.au is still available. Please read below for more information.

Our welfare support

Understandably during times like these, feelings of worry, anxiety and even panic can set in. Events like the new coronavirus pandemic can also trigger, exacerbate or prolong existing mental health challenges within individuals and communities.

Caring for our individual and collective mental health is more important than ever, and we encourage you to make the most of OTLR’s welfare support. Please continue to utilise our mobile app and encourage all club members, including players, management, coaches and support staff, to download the app and make use of the various features available.