Pretty much every single one of the GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) coaches preparing their team for battle this summer would list continued improvement and progress near the very top of their list of goals for the 2026 season.

GSSC U18 Impact girls' head coach Doug Rosener acknowledged as much this week.

“We are still trying to put the best product that we can out there; we’re trying to win,” said the man who has worked with a core of this group since their U13 season. That core also featured a pretty solid load of 2007-born athletes, the likes of Ava Massimiliano and Kynlee Cresswell and Natalia Begic – all of whom are now studying at Laurentian University and aged out of the U18 ranks.

But there is more than just a heavy exodus that makes this May feel a little different than the past four or five. “As they have gotten older, there is a realization that many of these girls will not be playing competitive soccer beyond this year – or likely not playing post-secondary,” said Rosener.

“So for me as a coach, my mindset has shifted a little.”

To be sure, the team that now features a mix of 2008’s (7), 2009’s (8) and 2010’s (3) still boast a small handful of aspiring OUA or OCAA recruits. The majority, however, will have to re-evaluate the role that soccer plays in their lives in the next year or two, all of which carries an altered perspective about what the next five months of a sport that they love should really be about.

“Letting these girls enjoy their time together and develop that way, as much off the field as on the field, I think that’s the main adjustment,” said Rosener. “We’ll be focusing a lot more on the camaraderie, letting the girls have some fun with it.”

All of the above has not been aided by a pre-season preparation period that saw their training facility succumb to the worst snowfall in almost sixty years. Attending the Joe Valvasori Sparta Cup 2026 Festival & Tournament this weekend in Hamilton, the U18 Impact girls will be subject to far more early season learnings than would normally be the case.

“This will be the first time the girls will have touched a full sized field this year,” said Rosener. “It’s the first time our goalie will have ever been between a full sized net.”

Rosener and company have opted to veer towards being a tournament team only this summer, with previous local entries into the OWSL U21 league subject to far too many out of town forfeitures on games scheduled for Sudbury. “This allows us to choose where we want to play, to look for a certain level of competition, with a guaranteed number of games,” he said.

Throw in a few weekends of friendlies with a solid group of talent out of Sault Ste Marie and you have the makings of a schedule that can still offer a sufficient developmental pathway for those who are targetting a roster spot with a university of college team in 2026 or 2027.

“It gives those who are still hoping to have a future in soccer an opportunity to learn different parts of their game, an opportunity they might not have if they were playing on a team where 90% are moving on to play post-secondary,” said Rosener.

“In some ways, this can be good for them. They have to become more well-rounded players.”

GSSC U18 Impact girls: Jeanne Abou’ou Meka; Joanna Ajueze; Lois Appiah-Hagan; Saint-Joann Arewa; Avery Brooks; Ryleigh Byberg; Leticia Correira Pereira da Silva; Abbeygale Dagostino; Misaki Diavolitsis; Reece Fortier; Addison-May Gibbs; Eva Haraschuk; Bryn Hobson; Gabriella Massimiliano; Isabel Renelli; Grace Robertson; Chiana Rocca; Ariana Tonkovic; head coach Doug Rosener; assistant coaches Caroline Kovacs and Max Massimilano; team manager Sabrina Rocca and assistant team manager Peter Diavolitsis.

Having ascended to i-Model C1 play last year, the GSSC U15 Impact girls are kicking off their quest to return this summer, part of the qualifying process conducted in concert with the York Region Soccer League (YRSL). The locals will play five straight road games to open their first half season stint (10 games in all), facing Newmarket and South Simcoe on the weekend of May 9th & 10th.

The first home outing for this crew will take place on (Saturday) May 30th at 1:00 p.m. at Queen’s Athletic Field, with Aurora providing the opposition as 11 teams vie for a spot to move up when re-ranking occurs in July.

GSSC U15 Impact girls: Alayna Marier-Mikus, Elsa Rancourt, Sierra Ranger, Isabella Fraser, Desirée Malmiste, Lynn Nzotungwanimana, Jessie Fu, Braya Kelly, Zoey Brazier, Alexa Boissonneault, Violet Boisvenue, Luciana Tellez Romero, Julia D’Angelo, Kara Christine, Chloe Gascon, Matalyn Hojem, Veronica Paquette, Taya Messier, Lucie Thibeault, head coach Stephane Marier, assistant coaches Steve Kelly and Mason Steen, team manager Erin Boisvenue and assistant manager Silvana D’Angelo.

For their part, the GSSC U18 Impact boys decided to stick with the TOSL (Toronto Soccer League) where i-Model play would be offered at their age bracket, joining a six team loop that also includes Asante Soccer Academy, Cherry Beach SC, Markham SC, North York Academy and the Oshawa Kicks.

Also kicking things off on the road, the elder Sudbury lads can continue working on their game until the weekend of May 23rd & 24th, when the Impact will visit Oshawa and Markham, returning home three weeks later to welcome Cherry Beach and Asante Soccer Academy.

GSSC U18 Impact boys: Zhengda; Camillo Trujillo; Massimo Toffoli; Caleb Pearson; Owen Hicks; Noah Duguay; Mikkel Pharand; Emmanuel Boamah; Mauro Cusinato; Mishal Olanrewaju; Lukas Morin; Cesar Diego Delgado; David Akero; Alessandro Moretta; Alfarouq Alzawi; Matias Gonzales; Nathan Beland; David Santos; Donald Munyua and head coach Dino Moretta.