It matter not whether we are talking about the Lady Wolves or Northern Chill or GSBA Storm or Sudbury Voyageurs or GSSC Impact: the fact remains that for the vast majority of rep youth sport teams in the area, their lineup is not likely to remain intact from the earliest stages (U10-U13) right through until they complete the journey in this age bracket at U18.

Turnover can be high early in the process, with kids still finding their way, veering off in the direction of their one true athletic calling.

Turnover can also be high at the very end of this roadway as competing interests in their lives cause older teens to move along, academic and personal priorities pulling them away. That said, the door is then open for some who whether through their choice or not, have simply not been embraced in that more competitive environment just yet.

Noah Duguay had played recreational soccer growing up, enough so to feel quite comfortable trying out for the St Benedict Bears junior boys soccer team in the spring of 2024. But it wasn’t until the NOSSA playdowns, when he was moved from keeper to attacker, his team enjoying a comfortable lead, that the now 16 year-old was truly smitten by the lure of the pitch.

“I scored a couple of goals and my friend got me into a (Impact) practice,” said Duguay, his GSSC U17 crew having enjoyed a breakthrough last weekend, earning a split of 2-1 games as they compete in iModel action for the very first time. “The coach (Dino Moretta) saw my work ethic and liked it.”This past winter would be the first exposure to truly competitive soccer for Duguay and while his team performed well in the PISL (Provincial Indoor Soccer League), the experience did not necessarily provide a great picture of the wide array of talent that exists in this sport once summer soccer action begins.

“A lot of players do not play indoors,” stressed Duguay, his team now sitting with a record of 2-3-0 and pitted against Vaughn SC this weekend in a battle that will decide their C1 vs C2 fate for the next step of iModel play. “When those players come out, it makes the competition a lot better.”

“We found that out the hard way when we played Woodbridge in our first game.” (a 5-1 loss)

But as might be expected, progress has been swift for Duguay, blessed with one key trait of his game that has been most beneficial as he solidified himself as a solid back-line defender, most often on the outside but occasionally moved up to the wing.

“Nobody likes playing against an aggressive fullback and I think that’s what you have to be to compete at this level,” said Duguay. That, however, can lead to a boatload of fouls, if you’re not careful, free kicks that can easily end up in the back of your net.

“You don’t have to be right on their backs,” stressed Duguay. “If you are on them, limiting them to one touch and then wait for a bad touch and dive in. That’s probably the key to not getting the foul call.”

Seems like it has worked, especially this past weekend as the U17 Impact boys held on for a 2-1 win over Markham SC and then fought right to the final whistle, losing a tight 2-1 affair to KNSC (Kleinburg Nobleton Soccer Club).

Joining Duguay on the Sudbury squad this summer are David Akero, Nathan Beland, Emmanuel Boamah, Mauro Cusinato, Diego Delgado, Matias Gonzales, Zhengda Lu, Alessandro Moretta, Lukas Morin, Donald Munyua, Kouame Nango, Mishal Olanrewaju, Caleb Pearson, Pierce Rothwell and Masimo Toffoli.

The GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) Impact U15 boys continue to show well, assembling a weekend that included a 3-0 win on Saturday over Pickering in Ontario Cup play and carrying that momentum into their latest iModel qualifying encounter, a 2-1 win over King City.

Domadius Aziz, Papa Amofa and Josh Arewa hit the target for Sudbury in Cup play while Sam Lazare, a talented winger with the team, stepped in to play in net and recorded the shutout in the process. Back at it the next day, Lazare benefitted from tallies from both Papa Amofa and Alex Ben-Anteur as the team now eyes another Cup game this weekend, travelling south to face Toronto High Park on Saturday.

The Impact U18 girls did some travelling of their own last weekend, facing the Welland Wizards for a pair of road games in the Niagara Peninsula. A tough 2-1 loss that would see the GSSC girls hampered by an early red card just twenty minutes in was followed by a more rewarding 3-0 win over the same opponent.

North Bay native Abigail Betsil, Abbey Dagostino and Ariana Tonkovic recorded one goal each as the locals prepare to host CTSA (Canadian Tamils Soccer Association) Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at James Jerome.

On to the second stage of iModel play, the Impact U16 boys bumped up above the .500 mark with a -1 win over Newmarket, now sitting at 2-1-0 with road games this weekend against Juventus Glenshield and Vaughan SC sure to be a very stiff test.

Making their way on to the scoresheet for the homeside were Landen Lake-Rego, Frank Nzotungwanimana and Jason Uloghobui.

Finally, the Impact U14 girls enjoyed a well deserved weekend off, squeezing a recent appearance in a tournament final in Peterborough between nine iModel qualifying games, with coach Stephane Marier and company having made good with victories in seven of those matches.

The team is riding a three game winning streak in league play that includes June victories against both South Simcoe United (1-0) and Richmond Green East (3-1). The 2025 edition of the team is: Brooklyn Bertrand, Alexa Boissonneault, Violet Boisvenue, Zoey Brazier, Kara Christine, Callie Couillard, Julia D’Angelo, Isabelle Fraser, Jessie Fu, Braya Kelly, Leah Lalonde, Desiree Malmiste, Alayna Marier, Taya Messier, Emma Leigha Morin, Veronica Paquette, Martina Cuevas Puerta, Elsa Rancourt and Sierra Ranger.