Have you heard of the small Nova Scotia community of Coal Harbour? Few have, yet National Hockey League MVPs Sydney Crosby and Nathan McKinnon both hail from this town.
Are you familiar with Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif.? Most likely you are not, yet controversial Major League Baseball home run leader Barry Bonds and legendary National Football League quarterback Tom Brady both attended school here.
L.A. Dodger World Series winning pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Super Bowl winning quarterback Matthew Stafford both attended Highland Park High School in Texas.
As pointed out in a previous column of mine, many local soccer standouts have emerged from Our Lady of Fatima and All Saints elementary schools plus Archbishop Carney High School. Well, it appears that the Canadian men’s World Cup soccer team has similarly been supplied by a Catholic school and community in Ontario.
Brampton, Ont., has been a hotbed of soccer talent in recent years and specifically St. Edmund Campion High School. Canadian World Cup team members who attended Campion include Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin, and Jonathan Osorio. All of them were coached by Greg Spagnoli, who said, “We are very proud to say that they attended our school and represented our Catholic community. We are excited to see them excel on the world stage” (Quinto Amundson, Canadian Catholic News).
All of them helped lead their team to provincial championships in different years. Currently Osorio plays for Toronto in Major League Soccer, while Larin and Buchanan play professionally in Belgium.
Campion is not the only Catholic school being represented in Qatar. Eight Canadian players attended Catholic schools, including Alfonso Davies, who went to St. Teresa of Calcutta Elementary School in Edmonton. Richie Laryea attended Dante Alighieri High School in Toronto. Though these players all have different personalities and skill sets that have contributed to helping Canada win games, all have been strongly praised for their dedication, persistence, and work ethic.
It is virtually impossible to reach the peak of your sport without hard work and mental toughness and these players have reinforced that idea. Alighieri phys ed teacher Mauro Ongaro said of Laryea, “He had the dedication to become a professional soccer player and he was very humble. Just one of the guys” (Quinton Amundson, CNS). Humility being such a Christ-like virtue, it is especially good to see this quality in our Canadian team players. Having several world class players come out of one school may give testimony to the notion that we all can affect others’ lives by our example and that those around us will want to emulate us.
Pope quotes and soccer stories … as the World Cup progresses, it reminds me again how many popes have taken a keen interest in soccer, both personally and in efforts to evangelize the world.
Pope John Paul II was a fan of several teams reportedly including Fulham, Liverpool, and Barcelona. When young, Karol Wojtyla was known as “Lolek the goalie” since this was his favourite position. He would often play alongside his Jewish friends to balance the numbers. He would also play at home with his father.
When addressing the 1979 Milan team who won the Italian Championships, he told them, “Be expert guides and trainers not only on sports fields but also in the ways that lead to the goals of the true values of life. May the Lord Jesus grant you that goal, the true and ultimate destiny of life … the goal of heaven” (Philip Kosloski, Aleteia).
Pope Benedict is a fan of Bayern Munich soccer club. He has stated that “Soccer can be a tool for the teaching of life’s ethical and spiritual values for young people” (Kevin O’Keefe, The Atlantic). While still Cardinal Ratzinger, he wrote that “soccer links humanity around the world in its hopes, fears, emotions and joys” (Co-workers of the Truth).
Pope Francis, on the other hand, is a fan of San Lorenzo in Argentina. When speaking in 2021 to the U.C. Sampdoria team, he told them that “sports and soccer are a path of life, maturity and holiness. As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, she is working in the world of sport to bring the joy of the Gospel and the unconditional love of God for all human beings” (Catholic News Agency).
World Cup update: At the time of writing this article, JPII’s home country of Poland was one win and one tie in two games, Pope Francis’s Argentina was one win and one loss in two games, while Pope Benedict’s home country of Germany was one tie and one loss. Canada unfortunately was zero wins and two losses.
