Welcome Jon Trovas

WELCOME

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Born in Brisbane, I have spent most of my life living in Queensland. After a short amateur sporting career and an even shorter-lived accounting career, I realised my passions were sport and coaching. After many years working in the same environments, Eleanor and I decided to take an opportunity to move to Adelaide to take over the Rowing Program at Seymour College in late 2017.

Since moving to Adelaide, Eleanor and I have found our home, become engaged, then married and now have our beautiful 10-month-old boy Talbot along with our two Frugs (French Bulldog x Pug) Frankie and Fergus.

What personal qualities do you value most?

I have always appreciated honesty, hard work and humour. Honesty because I believe it is important to know exactly where you stand and that you can genuinely trust someone when speaking. Hard work and commitment because they serve you well no matter what you choose to do in life. You will never be left wondering what if? Humour because it is important to laugh and find time to be happy even on the worst days.

JON TROVAS

DIRECTOR OF SPORT AND RECREATION

We are delighted to welcome Jon Trovas to Wilderness School in 2021. It is always wonderful to meet new members of staff and learn what inspired and led them to their current role. We sat down with him and asked a few questions to get to know him.

Why Wilderness?

When Eleanor and I moved to Adelaide, one of the first things we did was drive around and, doing our best to find our bearings, ended up on a bit of a ‘School Drive-by Tour’. We were both initially impressed with the School and its location and gradually learned more about it through word of mouth and competing against Wilderness in the annual intercollegiate competition. After our first season in Adelaide, I asked El “If you had a choice of any school to be Director of Rowing at, what one would you choose?” Eleanor was very quick to convince me that Wilderness would be a great opportunity for several reasons and in January 2020, Eleanor was fortunate to be employed at her dream Adelaide school. Eleanor came home every day telling me about the staff, the students and the parents saying how much she loved the role. The Wilderness values are also something that both Eleanor and I managed to connect with very well. In 2020, many of us experienced tumultuous times of uncertainty. I must say, I was envious but relieved to see how well Wilderness supported my wife, the staff and community through the initial COVID landscape. At that time, I knew if there was ever an opportunity to work at Wildy, I had to take it. I am grateful every day to be able to work alongside great people and my family.

What are you looking forward to most in your new role?

Every career opportunity I have had has been different. There are always similar outcomes you are striving for, but there isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula for success. While you always have that nervousness from the unknown of starting a new role, there is a thrilling excitement to look at something with your own eyes, solve problems and find ways to use the good foundations to build the future.

Having spent the first term at Wilderness, I have had the opportunity to start meeting many of our girls and coaching staff. I am very excited to work together to find ways to engage our community and work toward our goals.

What is the most rewarding aspect of the work you do, and what makes it so worthwhile? Without a doubt, it is getting involved in sport and working with so many aspiring young people. It is a very motivating experience to be around the edge of a passionate speech from the coach or team captain before a game. It is exciting to have the opportunity to work with young developing people and have a small part in creating a positive change in their lives. The result is always exciting at the end of a journey, but I have learned to appreciate the importance of enjoying the process of the journey itself over the years. The result on that day is often just relief, but if you can enjoy the journey with everyone involved and see the smiles and enjoyment every day, it is easy to love what you do. I say this a lot to students I have worked with over the years. Make sure you do not take what you have for granted. I made the mistake of wishing school would end and life would begin when I was their age. But it is not until you have finished that you appreciate how special having an entire community behind you in sport is.