By Ottawa Sports Pages, for Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club
Throughout the soccer season, there have been countless drills and skills, and wins and losses, but ask Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club coaches what the sport means to them and they’ll tell you it’s all about the passion and the community created through the game.
Ali El Hossari has been playing soccer since he was a kid, and this summer was his first year serving as a head coach for the Internationals.
“I don’t want to ever leave this community. It’s everything to me,” El Hossari highlights. “The most rewarding part is just getting to be in a great atmosphere, spending time with great people, great staff, and just seeing the kids enjoy and smile. That’s the best thing for us.”
Fellow Internationals coach Aaron Campos concurs that there’s lots more to it than kicks and saves and goals.
“I met all my best friends through soccer. I’m 31 years old, and still my closest friends today I met them through soccer,” Campos reflects. “I have a job through soccer. It gave me a second opportunity in life. This whole community is very, really special to me. It’s near and dear to my heart.”
Eric Terrien has been an Internationals coach for three years, most recently with the club’s U13 boys. He too soaks up all aspects of the beautiful game.
“We love to just be able to be outside,” he smiles. “It’s really nice. My favourite thing is the smell of the grass, outdoors, and the team aspect – seeing people come together for common goals and growing together.”
While working with younger age groups, Terrien focuses on developing the athletes by allowing them to try different positions. Many of the U13 players have played in the same program for five years, creating strong bonds already through soccer-related activities.
“Even throughout the winter, we generally go see some soccer together either before or after soccer games,” Terrien indicates. “They’ll even sometimes hang out at each other’s houses, and maybe meet at the park. We all kind of live in the same area, so we spend a lot of time doing soccer things.”
Those strong community connections were perhaps displayed most prominently this summer when the Internationals club rallied to welcome over 200 boys’ teams and nearly 100 more girls’ teams on back-to-back weekends for the annual Ottawa Icebreaker Tournament.
Terrien says the positive atmosphere is a credit to Internationals technical director Peter Mapendere and club general manager Graeme Bali. He says those leaders’ “commitment to soccer, to promoting the sport, and helping, not just athletes grow, but also coaches grow, has been very, very fun to see.”
“These communities and all these sports really don’t work that well unless you have volunteers. The volunteers are the foundation of all of this,” Terrien adds. “Those two, and I would say the club as a whole, have been very instrumental in providing leadership and students. They have been providing us with all the jobs we need, resources, and taking the time to help athletes and also help coaches.”
Learn more about the Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club at OttawaSoccer.com.
