It's been some forty years or so since the Sudbury Cyclones last took to the soccer pitch.

Come this summer, that is about to change.

A very excited group of soccer fanatics gathered recently at the New Sudbury Shopping Centre, site of the launch of the reincarnation of the Cyclones, the team jumping into the umbrella structure that is League1 Ontario Soccer.

"It's going to be a challenge - but for Sudbury, what an opportunity," noted Giuseppe Politi, the man introduced as the inaugural coach of the team which will make its entry in a newly-formed League2 Ontario bracket of play, effectively Division 3 in the province.

"As someone who has been invested in the soccer community for a long this, this is progress," Politi added. "For SWSE (Sudbury Wolves Sports and Entertainment - which owns the franchise rights), this is entertainment and a business."

"We're going to try and put the best product that we can on the field."

To that end, the Cyclones also welcomed their first two signings in the form of Sudbury native and Michigan State Spartans alumnus Michael Marcantognini as well as Ottawa native and Nipissing Lakers graduate Jack Collins, a 24 year-old who already benefits from League1 experience with the Electric City team in Peterborough.

A 27 year-old ultra-skilled attacker who split his high-school studies between St Benedict CSS and St Andrews College in Aurora, training with the TFC Acadmey and ultimately earning an NCAA scholarship, Marcantognini will be jumping back into soccer while also balancing his current career as a lawyer (he has passed the bar in both California and Ontario).

"I've been keeping sharp, keeping fit, fortunately, so when this opportunity did knock, I was extremely excited and ready to go," noted the young man who cracked the provincial team roster in his youth.

"It's an opportunity that I couldn't pass up on. This is something I really wanted to be part of."

For those who had the pleasure of watching Marcantognini perform magic on the field in his younger days, there is hope those memories will soon return.

"I will be on the ball, attacking-wise, hopefully scoring goals and playmaking," he said. "I love sharing the ball just as much as scoring a goal. You'll see some skill and some ability to get my teammates involved."

In Collins, the Cyclones hope to capture the energy that has been his trademark at every level of soccer, the ability to set the tone for the balance of his teammates, a critical need for a brand new collection of talent.

"The biggest thing is that the players that come in be ready to work, ready to learn, ready to explore," said Collins. "There's going to be some challenges; there's going to be ups and downs. That's going to happen with any team."

Furthermore, Collins shares the same level of anticipation with practice sessions here before we know it. "It was very easy to say to a program like this," said Collins. "It's a great opportunity for me to go further in a sport that I love and that I grew up playing."

"I'm excited to be part of it and honoured to be part of this first announcement."

In coach Politi, the Cyclones have brought aboard far and away the most accredited soccer coach in northern Ontario as well as a man who has proven time and time again to possess the ability to help level the field of play while guiding lesser talented teams with creative strategic deployment that has resulted in more upsets than most OCAA opponents care to remember.

"We want to try and get the best talent on the field - but we're going to create a style of play, formation, systems that we can with the players that are at our disposal - and we'll leave it all on the field," stated Politi.

Joining him on staff will be former Cambrian College women's head soccer coach Evan Phillips while Laurentian Voyageurs alumnus Dayna Corelli serves as General Manager and fellow L.U. grad Connor Vande Weghe jumps aboard as Sporting Director.

A finalized schedule has not yet been produced though the Cyclones are expected to host their first home game some time in May.