Gerry Gomez a Christian athlete and former Socceroo, is celebrating two 'second generation scenarios' says Mark Tronson the Well-Being Australia chairman, Baptist minister and the chaplain to the Australian cricket fraternity for 23 years.
M V Tronson caught up with Gerry Gomez at a 'cross cultural outreach' sports evening at St Judes Anglican Church in Melbourne City last week. They were both invited speakers to an audience of mostly university students, many of whom were from Asian countries under contractual student arrangements.
Now 48, Gerry Gomez spoke of his elite athlete years which culminated in his representing Australia. He played with Sydney club Marconi when they won the national soccer competition's grand final in 1988 and 89 and were finalists in 1990. He subsequently played in Korea in the President's Cup in 1993 and, surprised at the finale God provided him, he played professionally in Malaysia in 1994.
Gerry Gomez says his favourite verse from the Scriptures is to "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart". He says of the highlight of his soccer career that, "It was a magical moment standing before your home crowd singing the national anthem," but he then went on to say, "Being a follower of Jesus Christ brings even greater joy and fulfillment."
He explained that his teenage years were within a Christian framework which frowned upon elite sport as it was thought it would inevitably lead a young Christian man astray.
"It wasn't until Mark Tronson, the Australian cricket team chaplain, took me under his wing and mentored me, that I realised that sport and following Christ were not mutually exclusive. I then recognised that I was free in spirit to play my best football," Gerry Gomez stated.
Both Mark Tronson and Gerry Gomez attended the second world congress on sports mission in Seoul Korea immediately before the 1988 Olympic Games. Using the contacts he made at that time, Gerry Gomez has now organised one outreach soccer coaching clinic in Sri Lanka and has another lined up for March next year.
Gerry Gomez is now professionally coaching soccer and is one of many volunteers with the Sydney Football Club, who describe him as their 'spiritual adviser', one of M V Tronson's many 'second generationers'.
Another cause for 'second generation' celebration is that Gerry Gomez's second daughter ZoÃ", aged 11, has been selected in the New South Wales 11 girls indoor FUTSAL team, with the national titles to be held in Canberra from January 08.