Every young footballer has something, or someone, who pushes them to be the greatest they can be. For Western Sydney Wanderers defender Tass Mourdoukoutas, that someone was his father, Kon Mourdoukoutas.
Shared on the Western Sydney Wanderers social media, Tass speaks personally about his strong relationship with his father Kon.
“I was nine or ten years old and he was driving me to an academy,” Tass says.
“He said to me that all the other kids are just training as well. If you want to do the same as them, well you’re only going to be as good as them.
“It’s up to you if you want to do more.”
For many, parents can be the anchor of support that drives and encourages children to follow their dreams. For the parents, this can mean long car rides across the state, helping reiterate the balance between school and passion, along with wider emotional support from extended family.
Tass explains that the sacrifices his parents made were imperative to his development as a player and person, saying he often “took it for granted.”
“You wish you could just thank them every day”, Tass adds.
“You look back now and you think you really couldn’t have done it without them.”
Playing in Sydney Olympic’s youth and senior competitions, Tass goes on to speak about one of the last car rides with his father to training, prior to the Greek Australian gaining his license.
“He was saying to me, this could be the last few trips we do together driving to Sydney Olympic training.”
“…They were always behind me and once I signed my first pro contract, that meant so much not only to me but for them, the sacrifices paid off I guess.”
Mourdoukoutas grew up in Sylvania Waters and was promoted to a two-year senior contract at teh Wanderers on 6 June 2018, signing a three-year contract extension in February this year.
