Our Royals Family: Sanjay Suri – A Decade Of Coaching With The Royals
In this edition of a series of features looking at some of the people and sponsors who make the Royals a fantastic place to be, we catch up with Sanjay Suri, one of the Royals’ longest-serving coaches! With over a decade in the books as a dedicated junior coach at the Essendon Royals, Sanjay shares his passion for the club, the game and – of course – his beloved Manchester United.
Sanjay Suri is the epitome of Essendon Royals Soccer Club, having been one of the most helpful and respected people at the club for over 10 years now.
Originally from India, Sanjay’s family moved to Dubai, where he grew up and his passion for the sport began.
Playing on sand-filled pitches, making new friends at school and learning new soccer skills, Sanjay realised in Dubai, that this was his game and knew that it would be a large part of his life heading forward.
Reaching adulthood and moving to Australia, Sanjay’s passion for soccer continued even at his beloved Australia Post job.
Not only did this job have a great work environment, but there was a shared passion for the world game amongst colleagues, where Sanjay and Australia Post representatives would play each year in the Corporate Games.
Starting off as a player in these games, Sanjay had great fun and success.
He also progressed into his first coaching role, which many of the Royals community know him so well for today.
Sanjay’s love for soccer over the years was quickly passed down to his two sons of Rahul and Rohan, and having started their journey at Fawkner Soccer Club, by the time his eldest son was 12, Sanjay felt it was time for a change.
“We wanted to join Royals, not only for their divisional title success, or because they were in a higher Super League, but we heard from friends that they were an amazing family club with a great reputation… these rumours were correct, and we all fell in love with Royals instantly.”
Following Rahul and Rohan’s teams through the years, Sanjay was always heavily involved, with coaching these sides.
Sanjay coached under-15’s, 17’s, 18’s and even progressed to the reserves where he was highly respected, for his great relatability and tactical acumen.
Now coaching the under- 17’s again, Sanjay has over 10 years of coaching experience at the Royals and he and the families involved couldn’t be happier.
Highly respected for his vast coaching experience, Sanjay gets the best out of his players on and off the pitch, while helping to mould young men into great people.
“I am here to coach football, but as a coach, I am more than that, I need to mentor my players about life, courtesy and respect … I believe in teaching young men respect towards women and good values that last longer than just during football.”
This type of coaching is exactly why so many people at Royals love the way Sanjay handles his teams and has helped the Essendon Royals have to build such a great reputation.
Yet another major passion of Sanjay’s is his love for the English Premier League (EPL) club, Manchester United.
With Royals also wearing the famous red, just like his beloved United and both having enjoyed so much success over many years, there are plenty of fans at the club and Sanjay has to be one of the biggest.
Very excited for the upcoming season, Sanjay is hoping for the EPL title next season, “after signing the world class Raphael Varane and hopefully Declan Rice, plus a potential breakout season from Greenwood, we could definitely win the title!”
The amount of passion and effort Sanjay puts into this sport and the club each week will go a long way to achieving more success at the club.
Not only through titles, but growth of his players off the field, this makes Sanjay someone the entire Essendon Royals community should admire.