Cure Brain Cancer

Cure Brain Cancer Foundation

Jaime Penna (nee Floros) is at home with her two young boys with a third due in early January. While she immerses herself in the role of full-time mum, she shares how much she misses playing soccer with her beloved Altona City family and says, “I’m a cranky pants because I’m not playing!”

Jaime has played with Altona City Soccer Club as a junior and a senior player. Before stepped off the pitch halfway through this season due to pregnancy, she was the goalkeeper in the senior women’s team this season.

The 32-year old says her soccer highlight was being the youngest player in the first women’s team at age 13 and winning that division. In the same year she won Best and Fairest and secured a place in the State Team which she recalls as “a great year!”

She’s played with this core team of women and girls for many years now – and together they’ve created an enviable team culture that is both welcoming and competitive. “This team is so much more than simply mateship and friends. I really struggle to put into words just how I feel – but it’s an overwhelming sense of belonging.”

Jaime’s father, Theo Floros attended every game she played often driving Jaime and a car full of girls to soccer matches every weekend. “As a supporter, Dad would never get too involved – he was a quiet sideline supporter – but in the car on the way home he’d fire up!”

Unfortunately, Theo battled brain cancer and passed away before the 2019 season commenced. Jaime saw that her father’s wish to stay at the family home throughout his illness was met. This meant Jaime became a full-time stay at home mum and full-time carer for her father while her mum continued working. “I would often not be able to attend night soccer training sessions, but coach Roger and the team were just amazing – all so very understanding and giving.”

Cure Brain Cancer Foundation CEO, Associate Professor Kerrie McDonald says, “Too many families experience the same devastating journey of Jaime and her father Theo. At Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, we’re doing everything we can to ensure families in the future experience better outcomes, and have access to treatment options.”

Roger Borg has been coaching women’s soccer for 10 years now. With two daughters of his own, Roger has a natural rapport with all the members of the women’s team. “Roger is like family to all of us. We all feel comfortable confiding in him when we need to, and he is amazing at developing the inclusive team culture that we have built at Altona City. To all of us Roger is our second dad.”

This season the Altona City senior women’s team supported Cure Brain Cancer charity to celebrate the life of Theo Floros. The first home game match on 12 April and final home game match on 23 August were played in tribute to Theo and the Floros family and the women’s team swapped the traditional maroon and gold for charity colour purple.

The charity kit was supplied and donated by KAPPA for the last home game. Kappa also donates the Beyond Blue kit for the senior men’s team. Kit organisers ACSC Vice President Frank Armari and Kit Coordinator Corey Fantuz are thrilled that the senior women’s team will continue to support Cure Brain Cancer in season 2020. The Cure Brain Cancer purple kit will be worn as an away kit throughout season 2020. Cure Brain Cancer Foundation CEO, Associate Professor Kerrie McDonald says, “Thank you, and I can’t wait to follow the Altona City Soccer Club women’s team again next season. You all look fantastic in purple!”

The senior women’s team would like to thank the Altona City Soccer Club and its community for getting behind the team throughout the 2019 season and for supporting their charity. The final home game match raised $715 for Cure Brain Cancer, taking the total raised this season to $1,268.

If you would like to make a donation to Cure Brain Cancer Foundation and assist in brain cancer research, advocacy and awareness in Australia, with a time-critical mission to increase five-year survival from the current 20% to 50% by 2023 then please click here.