You know the end of the season is near when the highlight of the week is the highly anticipated match-up on the pitch with the parents.

Given that this particular GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) U10 Impact boys' team topped their HDSL (Huronia District Soccer League) standings in a loop that included no less than nine U11 teams in the mix, my money is on the kids.

Coach Andres Mendez has worked with the core of this 17-man unit for the past two to three years and based on prior experience, felt confident that his squad could handle the jump to battle against older opponents – even if it meant spending some time introducing new concepts to his lads.

“The challenge was that we are playing on a bigger field and the rules changed a little bit,” said Mendez, noting the shift from “kick-ins” to “throw-ins” at U11, as well as the introduction of the soccer offside call, which can be a little tricky when first envisioned.

“We practiced their throw-ins right from the beginning of the season,” Mendez added. “If you struggle with throw-ins, it’s like giving the ball away. At the end, we had no bad throw-ins and even scored off a throw-in.”

A cursory glance at the work of his players in warm ups suggested that Mendez has been blessed with a more than solid gathering of local talent, many of whom identify as soccer-first athletes.

“I did Little Kickers to start in London and Guelph when I was maybe four or five years old,” said Odin Black, a definite centerpiece to the success the Impact have enjoyed in his role as a central midfielder. “I learned that it’s good to try things with the ball.”

While ball distribution is certainly high on his list of priorities, Black knows that there will be times when his ability to simply beat his man in a one v one showdown goes a long way in helping his team work their way down the field.

“Usually you can tell if he’s a good defender or not, if he’s backing up or jockeying,” he noted. “Sometimes, you can just stick your foot it and push the ball to the side or lay it out to the side and use your speed.”

In fact, the quickness of the youngsters might well have been the main concern for the opposing parental group on Thursday evening, with many a fleet-footed nine and ten year old scurrying about on the flip side of the pitch.

“My special ability is probably dribbling – and speed,” said 10 year old midfielder Mason Nolin, a grade five student at Ecole élémentaire Jean-Ethier Blais. “That’s how I beat defenders.”

A multi-sport talent who also suits up in the minor hockey “AA” ranks in Sudbury, Nolin admits to kind of stumbling into his soccer prowess, to an extent. “I was just playing at school with my friends and decided to play Sudburnia,” he said. “Surprisingly, I was doing good, so the next year, I went into the GSSC Grass Roots program.”

Much like Odin Black, Mason Nolin finds himself often in the midst of the flow of game play, dealing with the need to make ball-movement decisions in a hurry. “I just try and keep my head up to see who is open,” he said of his approach. “If nobody is open, then pass it to the guy behind you.”

Their record of 9-1-0 (54GF – 23GA) is a testament to the skill and depth in this Impact lineup, a fact for which their head coach needs little reminding. “I am very lucky,” said Mendez. “The players are doing their part; the parents are doing their part; and I am just trying to help.”

“I love this group.”

The balance of said group includes William Bulman, Max Cecchetto, Elliot Cropp, Malachi Dawson, Ames Desjardins, Alex Evangelatos, Alexandre Fridman Rubinsztejn, Ian Larios, Andres J Mendez, Miteo Joshua Miteo, Kael Perron, Avery Ranger, Lexton Sullivan, Spencer Sweezey, Griffin Werbiski and team staff Ivan Larios, Bruno Rubinsztejn and Heather Murray.

Speaking of teams with talent: the U13 Impact boys team were made even stronger early this year with the unexpected arrival of Yuvraj Singh. Born in India but first introduced to soccer around the age of ten while living in the United Arab Emirates, Singh and family moved to Canada in 2024.

He made the move north after spending some 12 months or so in Mississauga, immersed in a soccer academy environment – though he acknowledges that his time with the GSSC entry in iModel play this summer more than maintained his path of progress.

“When I came to Sudbury, it made me better because we have more competition here; we play against teams that are hard to play against,” he said. “And futsal (in Mississauga) really helped me with my skills and ball control and all that.”

Not that this 13 year-old grade eight student at Lasalle Intermediate School needs a whole lot of time to get up to speed – quite literally.

Despite first truly taking a shot at track and field this past spring, Singh would garner a pair of medals at Legion Nationals in Calgary in July, ascending to the podium in both the 300m and 800m races.

Yet there is something about the environment of a non-individualized sport that truly speaks to this friendly young man. “This is more of a family than a team to me,” he said. “We do a lot of stuff together, really building chemistry. In the games now, I know where my player is going to be to pass the ball.”

“I am not growing by myself,” Singh continued. “It’s our whole team, growing together.”

Much the same story for the Impact U15 boys who came out guns-a-blazin’ in a two-game weekend home set. Saturday would see Alex Ben-Anteur suit up for his final game this summer before leaving for the Valencia Academy in Montreal (along with teammate Sam Lazare), celebrating his “captaincy for the day” by scoring a brace (two goals) as Sudbury bounced Thornhill 6-1.

Nathan Estriplet matched the production of Ben-Anteur, with solo tallies coming courtesy of Sam Lazare and Xander Millett.

The Sunday match-up appeared to be a tougher one, facing a King United crew that had only one loss to show on their stat-line (albeit against the Impact). The game stayed close into the second half before the Impact pulled away with a 7-3 triumph, paced by a three goal effort from Joshua Arewa.

Nathan Estriplet added a pair while Papa Amofa and Sam Lazare wrapped things up.