Victoria Police leading senior constable Frank Scopelliti, Sherry Atkins, and Kyabram Junior Bombers Football Club president Brenton Sheppard at a "Look After Your Mates" presentation for Kyabram’s under-14s last week, held ahead of the annual Travis Atkins Memorial Day. Photo: Christian Marchetti.
Kyabram Junior Bombers Football Club held its annual Travis Atkins Memorial Day at Kyabram Recreation Reserve on Sunday.
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The day is dedicated in honour of Travis Atkins, a former player of St Augustine’s Junior Football Club who lost his life in a road accident in 1998 along with two other people between Kyabram and Stanhope.
The initiative was established in 1999 after St Augustine’s approached the Atkins family about holding a match in Travis’ memory and was initially played between the under-14 teams of Kyabram and St Augustine's.
After the two clubs amalgamated under the Kyabram banner, the Echuca Junior Football Club began to participate in the matches, with this year having the under-14 and under-16 Goulburn Murray Junior fixtures played in honour of Travis.
The under-14 clash saw Kyabram and Echuca play for the Travis Atkins Trophy, where the best player on each side was also recognised with the Travis Atkins Medals.
The Bombers lost a tough, physical contest, going down 4.2 (26) to 9.4 (58), with Ky’s Nate Willis and Echuca’s Lachlan Finn awarded the medallions for their outstanding performance and leadership on the field.
Echuca's Lachlan Finn and Kyabram's Nate Willis (centre) with their Travis Atkins Medals.
The day also incorporated a theme of “Look After Your Mates”.
As a lead in for the round, Travis’ sister Sherry and Victoria Police leading senior constable Frank Scopelliti addressed Kyabram’s under-14s at a dinner last week at The Blue Brick Hotel.
There, they reinforced the important message of making good choices and looking out for one another.
“When it started I think the TAC had a thing at that time around looking after your mates, and so that's what we've run with for the whole time about looking after your mates,” Sherry said.
“Just making good choices and looking out for each other and not feeling silly about saying to your mate, ‘Hey, you're doing the wrong thing’, and it's pretty special to us that it's been going for so long.”
Travis Atkins’ sister Sherry addresses Kyabram’s under-14s at The Blue Brick Hotel. Photo: Christian Marchetti.
Sherry and Scopelliti both mentioned how the aim of reinforcing the theme to a new under-14 cohort is essential, even if to only influence a handful of the boys so the messaging stays with them long-term.
The police officer has given his talk on various occasions in years gone by.
“It’s really personal to me even though it wasn't my family because I was the first officer on the scene at this collision as a young 27-year-old policeman back then,” Scopelliti said.
“I think what Sherry and the family and the footy clubs have done is a great message.”
In his speech, Scopelliti speaks about the difficulty of being a first responder to a fatal incident and the toll accidents like Travis’ have on both families and the officers themselves.
Leading senior constable Scopelliti spoke to the under-14s about the importance of looking after each other. Photo: Christian Marchetti.
He places a particular importance on how mates often have more influence on each other than that of an authority figure such as parent, school teacher, or police officer, especially at a younger age.
“These guys are playing footy at under-14s but they've got older brothers, older friends that are maybe in the thirds that are driving, as it turned out with Travis,” Scopelliti said.
“Travis got into a car, he never thought for one minute he'd never see his family again because if that path was written for him, he would have gone home and said goodbye to everyone.
“He didn't get that opportunity. He got into a car, made a poor choice, and ultimately paid his life with it.
“The hardest thing I had to do was walk into Hillary and Kevin’s (Travis and Sherry’s parents) lounge room at four in the morning, and see the look on their face when I told them about Travis, and that will stay with me forever.”
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