Like any good sport organization, the GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) looks to ensure the sustainability and growth of their competitive Impact teams by both fostering an environment where players want to return, as well as constantly being vigilant to potential additions that can help bolster the various lineups.

A circuit of a handful of GSSC practices on Thursday night would give me a chance to chat with athletes covering both of those facets, as well as one young man who likely sits more in between.

Just finishing her grade nine year at Lasalle Secondary School, multi-sport talent Isabelle Roy had very little background in soccer when Impact U16 girls coach Doug Rosener spotted her at a local high-school mini-tournament hosted at the Lancer Dome.

“He thought I had potential, so he asked me about playing,” said Roy, whose team sport resume generally has seen her sit as the only girl on all-boys teams. Understandably, there would be a need to help their new recruit, slotted in initially as a keeper, start to feel comfortable with her new teammates.

“We’re doing a lot of team bonding drills – and even the (skills) drills like we were doing earlier, we’re running with partners, always trying to pair up with someone you haven’t paired up with before,” said Roy. “Everyone here is very inclusive. They really made me feel at home.”

On the pitch, Roy thought she had also found a home, sliding in as a goalie after giving it a shot with the Lancers’ crew. That was fine until a flag football related finger injury limited the use of her hands, with Rosener opting to now slide her in as a striker. “It’s a lot of running – and I can’t use my hands,” she said with a laugh.

“But our (goalie) trainer, Chris (Belanger), he taught us really good ball control with our feet, good passing and stuff.”

The Impact U16 girls are one of a handful of GSSC teams who have made the jump from Huronia District Soccer League (HDSL) play to the Toronto Soccer League this summer – and with an early season record of 2-1-0, the fit in this GTA based loop seems like a good one.

“Everyone (that we play against) has been playing for many years,” said Roy. “They are a lot more competitive down there, in Toronto. It’s a challenge – but I like a challenge.”

Though he has roughly four years experience with the GSSC, U14 Impact striker Landen Lake-Rego shares the sentiments of his clubmate, blessed with the comparative knowledge that comes part and parcel of having played in the HDSL last year.

“We have to be more physical (this year), work on our passing and be a lot more physical on the ball,” said the recent elementary school graduate who plans to add to an already stacked St Charles College array of soccer talent in the fall.

“Last year, it was kind of easy – the competition wasn’t that great. But I could try some new things because the teams were easier, try and improve myself more. I think it helped me become a better player.”

From a team standpoint, no shock here that the focus centres around better ball control, while the defensive priority is working together as a unit. “We’re passing a lot better this year, which is good because the competition is harder,” said Lake-Rego, a competitive hockey talent during the winters.

“People are calling for the ball, unnecessarily, when they are still marked – but we are communicating more - and that helps. I think holding the offside line is still tricky. It’s hard to keep that line and get everyone to push up and force their guy offside.”

After blowing away their opponents in 2022, the team under the direction of coaches Mario Ceccon and Frank Nzotungwanimana are finding themselves more tested versus TOSL adversaries, with a 3-3 draw with Brazilian SA the latest proof to be offered. Lake-Rego netted one of the three Sudbury goals, joined on the scoresheet by Roman Mamonov and Samuel Julius.

“I have to get a little bit faster – and more physical,” said Lake-Rego. “The guys here are bigger – and I need to read the play quicker, make quicker decisions.”

At 20 years of age, Donald Ajilore, an Irish-born centerback of Nigerian descent has walked that pathway already, exposed to a whole variety of different approaches to soccer – even since his arrival in Canada four years ago and subsequent move to Sudbury in 2021.

“Moving to a new country, you obviously have to adapt to the environment and how the soccer is managed in this country,” noted the third year Computer Science major at Laurentian University, named as team captain of the U21 Impact men’s side for 2023. “I found it a little bit difficult, but I am getting used to it.”

Throw in a mix of new faces with some returnees to the roster and it likely all makes sense for a team that dropped their first three games on the schedule but have now rebounded to even their record at 3-3-0.

“The beginning of the season was tough,” said Ajilore. “Everyone was learning, adapting to the style of play – but we worked together to get some chemistry and win some games.”

“We are on a winning streak right now, so I guess that this is working for us pretty well.”

Certainly much of the credit for that should be doled out to first year head coach Mata Boboy and his assistant Hilmi Ordukiran. “Every player on this team has different abilities,” noted Ajilore.

“The coach tries to put everyone in a position to perform at the best of your ability and make sure we do our part, as a player, to help the team win.”

And that formula, by and large, does not involve reinventing the wheel.

“We need to work on our possession,” said Ajilore. “We need to be able to control the game. If we keep possession, we don’t have to waste our energy defending, trying to recover the ball.”

Like the overwhelming majority of the Impact squads, the U21 men will enjoy the July long weekend without any scheduled games, hitting the road on July 8th/9th for the first two of six games slotted for next month.

The GSSC Impact U21 men's team this summer also features Diallo Hafiss Adou, Timi Aliu, Gabriel Campagnaro, Ayoub El Aasri, Mehdi El Fellah, Mathieu Houle-Poliquin, Rolly Ilunga, Lucas Lachapelle, Edgar Lalong, Divin Ngenzi, Kamal Oduwole, Excel Origbo, Angel Perez, Joaquin Polanco, Basil Saji, Konrad Schulte-Hostedde, Armael Simo, Nghomsi Simo Steve Marius and Mabea Louis Charles Mederic Toma.

Finally, the GSSC Impact U16 boys swept both ends of a home and home series with the Nipissing District Lakers last week, improving their mark to 3-2-0. Braxton Ragogna scored twice and Theo Lefebvre registered the shutout as Sudbury blanked North Bay 2-0 Thursday in the nickel city, adding a 5-1 victory to the mix last Saturday.

Andre Sousa hit the mark twice for the winners with Byron Nelson, London Croome and Luca Cucullo also joining in the fun as the team resumes TOSL play with matches against the North Toronto Nitros and Gil Vicente on July 8th and 9th.