Vale Len McKendry | Football Australia

Football Victoria is saddened to learn of the passing of former State Director of Coaching, State Team Head Coach, NSL Championship Winning Coach and NSL Coach of the Year, Len McKendry.    

Born in London 1940, Len McKendry began his life in football as a fifteen-year-old apprentice with Watford Football Club, but quickly became disillusioned with the game and its reluctance to promote young talent. He turned his eye to coaching and moved to the West Midlands, where he obtained his FA Coaching License. After a stint coaching the Southern England Schoolboys squad in Nottingham, he moved to Sydney in 1975 under the Rothmans Sports Foundation scheme following the advice of Australia’s National Team Head Coach Brian Green.

McKendry impressed in his two seasons with the largely amateur Marrickville in the New South Wales Second Division before an opportunity to take up the State Director of Coaching role vacated by Ron Smith at the Victorian Soccer Federation (VSF) beckoned in 1978. He worked closely with Ken Lyon, the Secretary of the Victorian Coaches’ Federation, who was involved with Prahran Slavia at the time. McKendry’s influence on Victorian players and aspiring young coaches was immediately felt, with Slavia’s Jamie Paton, Steve Short and John Yzendoorn enrolling in the first of his coaching courses.

McKendry’s role with the VSF incorporated the position of State Head Coach, and his debut match in charge resulted in a commendable 1-0 loss to Poland’s Wisla Krakow in February 1979. After defeats to South Australia at Hindmarsh Stadium and Norwich City at Olympic Park, a first win in Victorian colours came at the same venue against Partizan Belgrade (1-0) in June. One of Victoria’s finest ever performances followed in