By OSU Force Academy
A number of burgeoning soccer talents were recognized for their accomplishments in 2014 at Ottawa South United’s end-of-year banquet, which also provided a glimpse into the future career many of the aspiring players dream of living.
Only a few years their senior, 20-year-old guest speaker Chris Mannella told the crowd of 400 about his path to signing his first professional contract with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. “I’m so happy to be playing for my hometown club,” beamed the bright midfielder who was born and raised in downtown Toronto.
Mannella began playing soccer at age 6 in house league, later moving up to the representative level and competing in the Ontario Youth Soccer League – facing off against OSU on occasion. He took part in the provincial team program and at age 15 was recruited to join TFC’s youth academy.
“There’s not always one pathway to professional soccer,” Mannella noted, emphasizing that there can be many twists and turns along the way, which he experienced first-hand while trying out for TFC’s first team this past January. “My first game, I was on the bench and then in the 85th minute, a guy got injured and they said, ‘Chris, you’re going in.’ My first play, I got injured. I tore three hip muscles and I was out for about three months. It was the worst feeling ever.”
The team’s physiotherapist wound up giving him a boost, telling Mannella to stop feeling down and work hard on rehabilitation so he could rejoin the team later in the year. “That stuck with me,” he highlighted. “I wanted to prove to him and everyone else that I could be a pro.”
Mannella was dealt another blow this year when his sister was diagnosed with lymphoma. It was devastating news, but his sister’s resolve in her battle served as inspiration. “She kept pushing through it and it just drove me every day in training to keep pushing harder,” Mannella described. “It shows you that there are ups and downs in everyone’s career, and everyone’s life.”
Since signing with TFC, Mannella has made a number of public appearances, and the big thing he’s observed is that Canadian soccer is most definitely on the rise. “It’s great to see all the young players come together here,” Mannella said to the OSU gathering. “I see great potential wherever I go, and I have no doubt there is great potential in this room.”
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For a pair of OSU-brewed players, their own dream of a pro career took another step forward in 2014. Kris Twardek and Vana Markarian continued to progress with their respective Millwall FC and Vancouver Whitecaps academies, along with the Czech Republic and Canadian youth national teams.
“As much as it’s about winning medals and trophies for some people, for us, we look at the bigger success this year as having two international players,” indicated OSU Club Head Coach Paul Harris.
A number of OSU players also took part in national and provincial programs this season, including OYSL U14 and U15 girls’ league-leading scorers Odessa Strizzi and Clarissa Larissey – part of a region-record 10 Team Ontario players from OSU.
Receiving major awards at the banquet were Gregory Pantalone, Alicia Colletti, Jeremy Arnold, and Jane Hext, while spirit of excellence honors went to the Ontario Cup-finalist U16 Force girls and the U14 Force boys, who won the club’s second OYSL championship in as many years (Eastern Ontario’s only OYSL titles in history).
“It shows that it’s not a fluke and that our program must be a good program and something people should want to be a part of,” signaled Harris, whose club is poised to have the most OYSL entries out of all Ontario organizations next season. “We’re quite proud of what our players have accomplished this year. The progress we’ve made and the success we’ve had with our teams has opened doors for us. We have to continue pushing through those doors.”
—By Ottawa Sportspage