How Leon turned setbacks into strength
14/07/2026
As you saw Leon Alao kick the sealer in our win against Werribee, you may have thought it was just a beautiful set shot, but it meant much more than that. Leon’s football journey was anything but smooth with constant injury battles and the pressures of cracking into high level football. Nevertheless, his highs and lows contributed to building the resilient athlete he is today.
During his younger years, Leon filtered from Auskick into juniors at Ormond Amateur Football Club. From U8s to U13s, he soon realised he was “somewhat athletic” despite just playing for fun.
At 15, Leon was offered to train at the Sandringham Dragons but declined due to family wanting him to focus on study. However, a year later when Sandringham approached him again, he said yes.
Leon was still very raw at football, not yet attuned to the rhythms of elite pathways as he missed state programs at ages 11 and 12. Although his physical transformation saw him grow taller and leaner, building his athletic ability to be faster and stronger, Leon was heartbroken being one of the last cuts from the Dragons’ U16s squad. He claimed it “lit a fire” and remembered thinking “how far could I really go?”
A conversation with Sandringham Dragons’ coach, Josh Bourke led to Leon being asked to return as a development player. He managed to balance his time at the Dragons with local football at Ormond.
During these years, Leon was also part of St Kilda’s Next Generation Academy (NGA), a draft concession program aimed to grow multicultural and First Nation representation and opportunities. Leon represented his multicultural background with a Nigerian father and half Swiss mother. To earn his spot, he went through a testing combine of various skills such as the 20m Yo-Yo test. The talent program also focused on physical, mental and professional development for aspiring athletes. His induction there at 16 gave him an early taste of the elite pathway, providing a sense of possibility that comes with an AFL-aligned program. Although this opportunity seemed promising, the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans.
Leon began to mature and understood what he needed to do to get to the next level, being taught about mindset, nutrition and professionalism. As weekly Zoom meetings became the norm, connecting with the group remained difficult. Solo sessions felt very isolated but manager Jack Henty reached out to everyone to ensure no one felt fully alone.
Coming out of the NGA at 19, Leon was offered a Moorabbin Airport Diversity Traineeship by Jack Henty, which led him to his current Sport Administrator role. The role involves running school holiday and in-school clinics and general community and fan engagement zones in heavily diverse areas. Leon leads a scholarship program for First Nations and multicultural children aged 13 to 18 years old, which focuses on personal development, characteristic leadership and resilience building. Enduring years of various football programs himself like the NGA, he offers young aspiring athletes experience and knowledge with navigating cultural awareness and understanding the challenges faced when coming from a different culture.
When local practice matches commenced again, 18 year old Leon tragically snapped his fibula. His season was over in a moon boot. Nonetheless, the broken leg exposed him to something different: what happens when the pathway you’ve been pursuing suddenly falls away?
One coach from the NGA stood out, former AFL player Trent Dennis-Lane. He saw Leon struggle and called him three to four times a week asking him, “What’s your silver lining? What’s your sunshine?”
At first, Leon was baffled. Sunshine? He was injured. Out for the season. The idea was to look for things outside of footy such as school, friends and hobbies. Things that could give his days happiness and meaning whilst on the sidelines. This concept stuck with Leon, even to this day.
Late 2021 saw Leon jump out of his chair in Year 12 PE as an email offering him a chance to train at the Sandringham Zebras came through. Yet, the excitement didn’t last unchallenged.
His preseason at the Zebras was interrupted by a grade one hamstring strain, causing him to miss out on a list spot, but he remained a train-on player. Leon was grateful for familiar Dragons transitioning to the Zebras, easing the nerves of joining a new club with older players. He reminisced about how welcoming the Zebras’ Operations Manager, Courtney Banks was. She introduced Leon to staff and showed him around the club, making the place “feel like home.”
By being a train-on player, there was mid-season deliberation whether he would be signed to play. That weekend, he was unlucky to dislocate his shoulder at his local Ormond game, putting him out for 10 months. Reconstruction surgery was required and a sense of the doors to high level football was closing.
The physical pain of rehabilitation wasn't the only part of the battle. After years of setbacks, it was the mental toll that he found hardest to overcome. Leon admitted that he underestimated how difficult long term injuries would be. “You hear people talk about it,” he said, “I thought I was strong minded enough that I’d be fine but it actually took a huge toll on me.”
Whilst teammates prepared for games each week, Leon found himself completing rehabilitation sessions alone. Long days in the gym and solo running sessions became his routine, forcing him to watch from the sidelines as others enjoyed the rewards of consistent football. At one stage, he found himself in a really dark place seriously questioning whether his football journey had reached its end.
Although his broken leg and dislocated shoulder had tested him mentally, it was another hamstring in the 2024 pre season that broke his composure. “I remember walking off knowing I'd done something bad,” Leon recalled, “I got into the change rooms and just broke down crying”.
His former coach found him moments later, visibly devastated. The emotion followed home, where he initially tried to hide the injury from his mum as he felt embarrassed that another bad injury had occurred.
After years of surgeries, rehabilitation and repeated setbacks, the weight of every previous injury seemed to surface at once. Friends even began asking whether it was time to walk away from football altogether.
Instead, Leon returned to a lesson that had stayed with him since his first injury. Dennis- Lane’s encouragement reminded him of the importance that life extended beyond football. That mindset became an anchor throughout every rehabilitation session, helping Leon shift his focus whenever football threatened to consume him. He knew he could keep chasing the game he loved and not let injuries make that decision for him.
“The sport’s given me so much fun and so much joy since I was a kid,” he said, “Why let these injuries stop my passion?”
A turning point finally arrived in 2025 when Sandringham’s Physiotherapist, Kane introduced him to a tendon specialist. Rather than following another rehab program, Leon committed to an intensive 12-month recovery plan that he believed changed his career.
Coming out the other side, he returned to community football with the Melbourne University Blacks, where he finally strung together 11 consecutive games, his longest uninterrupted run since U17s football.
The consistency was rewarded with a VFL contract at Sandringham before Christmas 2025. After five years of perseverance, it was validation that every setback had been worth enduring.
Leon’s football found a new home at both the University Blacks and Sandringham. Weighing up several local clubs, he felt welcomed by the Blacks, where players from every grade introduced themselves and embraced him from his very first training session.
“It felt like home,” he said.
The same feeling followed him back to Sandringham as the Club entered its first season as a standalone VFL club in over 25 years.
“It’s more mentally calming,” Leon explained. “You’re fighting for your spot with the boys you’re training alongside every week. There’s no higher power above pulling your spot from underneath you.”
For the first time in years, football no longer felt like something slipping away; it felt like home again. Returning to football was one thing; trusting his body was another.
Leon admitted the biggest challenge wasn’t his fitness but the mental hurdle of believing his body would hold up. “It was amazing”, he said, “I almost went straight back into how I was before in terms of mindset”.
That mindset, however, came with its own challenges. Leon found himself becoming frustrated by mistakes and expecting too much from himself after spending so long on the sidelines.
“I was harsh on myself for not playing well or missing kicks”, he said, “I had to remind myself that I haven't been out there for so long. The more footy I played, the more natural everything would feel.”
After each game passed, that confidence slowly returned. Every completed match became another reminder that the years of rehabilitation had been worth it.
“It just allowed me to trust myself and my body again,” Leon said, “Knowing that I'd done the work and that my body’s kind of over the hump of injuries.”
For the first time in years, Leon wasn’t thinking about his next rehabilitation session; he was thinking about playing his next football game.
Heading into the 2026 season, Leon felt something he hadn't experienced in years - confidence.
With coaches leading Sandringham’s standalone era and familiar High Performance Manager, Tom Laumets continuing to guide his preparation, Leon entered pre-season believing his body was finally capable of handling the demands of VFL football.
The belief was rewarded before Christmas 2025 when he received a VFL contract.
He claimed it was the best Christmas gift he could have got. “Seeing that all the hard work had paid off through the years proved to me that I've got what it takes to keep going,” he said.
For the first time in years, continuity replaced rehabilitation. Leon completed a full pre-season and earned his place in Sandringham’s Round 1 side, opening the season with three consecutive games.
When VFL Senior Coach Daniel Ward informed Leon he would make his VFL debut, he said “it felt like all the work I'd put in over the past five years was finally coming to life. It showed that I was able to play at this level.”
The fairytale continued against Werribee where late in the match, Leon marked the ball outside 50 with the opportunity to seal the game.
“I went back and almost knew I was going to kick it,” he recalled, “It was a weird feeling. I just thought, yep, this is it.”
The kick went through, sealing Sandringham’s victory and his first VFL goal.
“It was almost just euphoria,” Leon said, “There was so much emotion that came out in that. I think it was just five years worth of grinding.”
After years of wondering whether his body would allow him to keep chasing his dream, Leon finally had his answer. After everything that he has tackled, Leon’s advice to aspiring footballers isn't centred on talent or result. Instead, it’s about embracing the work that often goes unnoticed.
“You’re going to need to sacrifice more than you’ll be rewarded,” he said.
Whether it’s early mornings, extra training sessions or overcoming setbacks, Leon believes success comes from falling in love with the process rather than chasing the outcome.
“If you focus too hard on the result, you’ll lose yourself because the process is hard.”
The journey, he explained, will test athletes both physically and mentally.
“There will be moments where pushing through feels impossible and no guarantee that the sacrifices will lead to the destination that you hoped for.”
For Leon, success isn't defined by contracts, goals or games played. It’s about knowing that he gave it his all.
“The biggest thing is knowing that you put everything into it,” he said. “Knowing that you haven't left a stone unturned.”
After years of injuries, setbacks, and perseverance, Leon’s story is proof that while the destination may be uncertain, there is always value in the journey.
Written by Amelia Tran & Hayley Lim - Sandringham FC Media