His muscles were weakened after he had polio as a twoyearold, limiting the sports he was able to play.

"I was still mobile enough for cricket and volleyball when I was younger," he says. "Then it was table tennis, and I quit that only after I realised I was older than the collective age of everyone else in the team."

Today, the Hoppers Crossing resident, 58, is leading the push to get young people with disabilities into sports and recreation.

As Wyndham's newly appointed access all abilities officer, Mr Slattery has already got the ball rolling, forging relationships between sports clubs and special needs schools across the municipality.

Sport and recreation is vital for young people's minds and bodies, he says.

"People with physical or mental disabilities often don't have the capacity to exercise that able-bodied people do, and they can be on medication where they put on weight easily.

"It's really important to find activities they can do to keep their bodies active and healthy, and it's important for a sense of self-worth, not sitting alone at home, confined, watching telly and not much else."

Mr Slattery says many sports clubs often only need advice about providing resources for someone with special needs.

"There's one man in Wyndham who's been able to compete in a mainstream darts competition from a wheelchair, arranging to have the dart board adjusted for his height," he says.

With Wyndham's explosive growth, he says there are many young families of children with disabilities who may not know of nearby sports groups, or the area's bus routes to access them.

"My hope is when I leave the role, there'll be more disabled people in activities they desire - I'd like to see a sailing club at the marina and a horse-riding club for young disabled people."