Town Council Recognizes Hall of Fame Inductees and Teams Chris Shea
Oct 28, 2009
At last evening's Town Council Meeting, Mayor Frank Scarpitti and the Town Councillors recognized three new inductees to the Markham Soccer Hall of Fame as well as the U14 Boys and Over-35 Men's teams that represented Ontario in the recent National Club Competitions.
This year's Hall of Fame inductees were:
Larry Foreman
He is a former Club President and he has been a coach (youth and women), Adult Soccer Director (currently), Member of the Discipline Committee and a member of the Volunteer Screening Committee.
Paul Gardham
He was Uniforms and Equipment Director, House League and All-Star Coach, Referee and All-Star Teams Convenor. Paul is still active in the Club in the latter roles.
Jerry Kooymans
He has been the House League Director for many years. He has also been a Convenor, House League and All-Star coach and a Referee. Jerry is one of the hardest working member of the Club devoting uncounted hours to his work for the Club.
The Under 14 Boys had a very successful year winning the OYSL League and Cup, The Robbie Tournament, the Ontario Cup and a National Silver Medal.
The Men's team played at home this year in the Nationals and went to the final by beating New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. They beat Quebec in the semi-final and won the Gold by beating PEI in the final on the strength of two goals by Tommy Kousmanis.
Men Win Gold, U14's Win Silver
Chris Shea
Oct 12, 2009
October 12, 2009 was a historic day for the Markham Soccer Club with two teams in Nationals Finals: the U14 Boys in Sydney Nova Scotia and the Over 35 Men in Vaughan. Both teams acquitted themselves well.
In the Men's game, the team got an early 2 goal lead but PEI came back in the second half and scored one. The game went back and forth in the rest of the second half with a few anxious moments for the Markham players and fans. The game ended at 2 - 1 and Markham won the gold.
The U14's played Edmonton Juventus in poor weather conditions in Sydney. The game was a scoreless draw after the end of two overtime periods. On penalty kicks, Juventus scored on 4 while Markham scored 2. This could not have been much closer. The Markham U14's win Silver, the first Markham youth team to go to the Nationals and the first to win a medal. Despite the disappointment of coming so close to a win in the final, they deserve to be proud of their play.
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U14's Go To The Nationals Final Sanford Carabin
Oct 11, 2009
The U14 boys reached the Canadian Nationals Finals today by beating Challenger FC from Quebec in Penalties.
The boys had to play 14 hours after their last game and started slow.
After trailing 1-0 at start of the second half-time they came alive in the final 30 mins to get the equalizer and then held off a determined Quebec team to win in penalties. MSC keeper Stefan made 2 great saves to win it.
MSC Men Go To Nationals Final Again Chris Shea
Oct 11, 2009
For the second year in a row, the Markham Men will play PEI in the Eastern Masters Final. In the preliminary round, Markham beat New Brunswick 8 - 0 and on Sunday, they beat Nova Scotia by a score of 3 - 0. Both games were played under difficult weather conditions with wind and steady rain on Friday night and a temperature of 7 degrees for the Sunday game.
The Final is on Monday Oct 12 at 11 at the Soccer Centre in Vaughan.
The Archives
Tom McGarrigle Feb 2, 1942 - Jan 26, 2009 More than 250 people gathered on Saturday Jan 31 to pay their last respects to Tom McGarrigle, the iconic figure who was part of the Club for more than 28 years. More...
Indoor House League Action
Many thanks to all the wonderful volunteer coaches and conveners and to all the players and parents for making the 2008/9 Indoor House League a tremendous success.
In all, 15 different teams (from a maximum possible 20) finished either first or second in the league or playoffs, but if we all take up the mantra of the late Tommy McGarigle and play "for the love of the game" everyone is a winner! "She slept with her trophy and polished it when she woke up on Sunday" was one comment passed to me by a coach in one of the younger age groups - wonderful stuff!
MSC in the Community MSC in Santa Claus Parade Some enthusiastic players and volunteers braved the cold and took part in the annual Markham Village Santa Claus Parade. Click on the picture to see additional pictures.
Markham Sport Council Awards McGarrigles Receive Lifetime Achievement Award Mayor Frank Scarpitti presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Tom and Lynne McGarrigle on Nov 25 at the Town Council Meeting, in recognition of close to 60 years of combined service to soccer and the Markham Soccer Club. They were not able to attend the Sports Council Banquet so Mayor Scarpitti took advantage of their attendence at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony to present the award. At the Sports Council banquet, the Club was also recognized for service to the Town for more than 30 years (in fact, now entering its 38th year).
Hall of Fame Three New Members Inducted Into Hall of Fame On Nov 25 at the Markham Town Council Meeting, three new members were added to the MSC Hall of Fame. Pat Green, Greig Candlish and Brian Crawford were recognized by the Club and by the Mayor and Council for their contributions to the Club.
Annual Meeting MSC Elects New Board Members At the Annual Meeting on Nov 19, five new Board Members joined the Board: Larry Pollock was elected as the Treasurer; Perry Galanis was elected as the Competitive Director - Operations; Larry Foreman was elected as the Director of Adult Soccer; Domenic Visconti was elected as the Director - Micro Soccer - U6 & U7; and, John DeDominicis was elected as the Director - Micro Soccer - U3, U4 & U5.
At the Nationals in Moncton Markham Men Win the Nationals The Markham Over 35 Men's Team representing Ontario beat PEI by a score of 4 - 1 to win the Masters Eastern National Club Championship on Thanksgiving Monday. The PEI team gave them the toughest game of the series playing a very physical match. Ontario's goals came from Paul Hillman, Bayete Smith, Elvis Thomas and Chris Rowe.
U12 and U13 Boys Win the USA Cup Two MSC teams have made Club history by winning the USA Cup, one of the world's largest and most prestigious tournaments. The U12 boys coached by Rob Gillies won their final 8-2 over an American team, United FC from Wisconsin while the U13 boys coached by Dino Cramarossa won their final 2-1 over Real Madrid - Mexico. More
U13 Boys Win the Robbie The Markham Soccer Club U13 Boys coached by Dino Cramarossa demonstrated again that they are a first-class team by winning the recent Robbie Tournament. In the final, they defeated their arch-rivals, the Ajax Eagles. It's been a long wait for the MSC. Club teams have won many other tournaments, including the Ontario Cup, but prior to this year, the best result in the Robbie was as the runner-up.
In regular league play, the U13 Boys are in first place in the top Central Soccer League division with a 5 point lead over Ajax. Right behind them, the U12 Boys coached by Rob Gillies are in third place in the top U12 division.
MSC Adds Goalkeeper Coach to Tech Team The Markham Soccer Club is pleased to announce that Thomas Bianchi will be joining the Club's Technical Team as the Goalkeeper Coach. Thomas will be working with MSC's Rep, All-Star and House League Coaches and Goalkeepers to further develop the quality of the goalkeeping in the Club.
Thomas is currently the goalkeeper coach at Centennial College. He previously held similar positions at Irvine Strikers Soccer Club (Irvine California), Glen Shields Soccer Club and Aliso Niguel High School (Aliso Niguel California). He was a keeper at Vanguard University of Southern California where he started 67 games and amassed 24 career shutouts. In 2004, he was the team captain, the Golden State Athletic Conference Champion and he ranked 11th in the US. Thomas earned his Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sport Science from Vanguard University.
Thomas was the youngest-ever Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) Rookie of the Year and won the (CPSL) title with the Toronto Olympians in 1999. He was a two-time Ontario Soccer League (OSL) U-21 Goalkeeper of the Year, winning it with two different teams: the only keeper who has ever done that. In 2006, he was drafted by the California Cougars of the MISL.
“We are very happy Thomas has decided to come to Markham and work with our young keepers. I have known Tommy for a few years now and consider him one of the best young keeper coaches in Ontario. He is a very technical coach and has a terrific ability to bond with players and get the best out of them.” (Sanford Carabin, MSC Head Coach)
The MSC has a strong team of Technical Directors under Head Coach Sanford Carabin. This team continues to grow to keep pace with the growth of the Club and the development of the MSC programs. With 8 Technical Staff positions (including the Head Coach), the Club has what is probably the largest commitment to technical development of any soccer club of its size in the Province of Ontario. This Team has many, many years of experience in coaching competitive teams and providing programs. Many of them have professional or semi-pro playing experience in their background. The Club is commited to development and making Markham coaches and players among the best in the Province.
Robert Giacomi Signs With KBK in Norway Former MSC Lightning star keeper Robert Giacomi has signed a 2 year deal with the KBK Club in Norway. Robert will move right into the number 1 keeper spot at the club.
Robert played his youth soccer with MSC and he was a key member of the Club's OYSL team coached by Don McColl and Bryan Bufton. He was also a member of the Canadian National Youth Teams. After leaving Markham, Robert spent 2 years with Glasgow Rangers in their youth and reserve system. Last year, he played at Beveren in Belgium's First Division.
Robert was a member of the Canadian National Team that participated in last years Gold Cup and he was recently picked for the Canadian U23 team.
Chris Shea - YRSA Life Member Chris Shea was honoured recently by YRSA President Bill Condy who named Chris as York Region Soccer Association's 8th Life Member. Shown here (centre) accepting his plaque from other YRSA Life Members (l to r) Tony Casole; Benny Steenhorst; Lynne McGarrigle and Vince Tersigni. Chris just recently resigned from the York Region Board after serving more than a decade as their Vice President. Condy noted that out of York Region's eight Life Members, 3 were from the Markham Soccer Club. The third member, of course, is Tom McGarrigle who was not present for the photo. Congratulations Chris on a very well deserved honour.
Lynne McGarrigle - Hero of the Game October 19, 2007
Lynne McGarrigle was nominated BMO Community Hero of the
Game at the Toronto Maple Leafs game at the Air Canada Centre. Lynne has been with the Markham Soccer Club since 1980. Since that time Lynne has seen the Club quadruple in size, growing to upwards of 3800 members and over 400 volunteers. When Lynne and her husband Tom McGarrigle heard these stats announced at the Leafs game, she declared “Well it’s no wonder I’m so tired”! Lynne has been a leader in the soccer community and is not only BMO’s hero, but a Markham Soccer Club hero as well. Thank you Lynne McGarrigle, from the depths of our hearts! Thank you, and congratulations on recognition that is well deserved and a long time coming!
Tom McGarrigle - Hero of the Game At the TFC game on June 22nd, Tom McGarrigle was honored as the "Hero of the Game". In the picture, Tom poses with TFC player Jim Brennan.
MSC Annual General Meeting - Nov 2007 Markham Soccer Club held it's 37th Annual General Meeting on November 15th, 2007 in the Club Board Room at the Mount Joy Community Centre. Two new Directors were elected to the Board - Wayne Cheng is the new Director of Micro Outdoor Youth House Leage; and George Keroglidis is the Director of Youth Competitive - Administration. Congratulations to both and thanks to the outgoing Directors Aldo Barovier and Tammy Zambrano. Honoured as Coach of the Year was Paul Campbell. Paul has been a very valuable member of the club's coaching roster for many years, often coaching multiple teams in a season. Paul has coached both youth and adult teams. Also honoured as Volunteer of the Year was Carol Phillips. Carol is currently Manager of the U18 Lightning Girls team playing in the OYSL. In addition to her duties as a manager, Carol has volunteered in many other areas of the club including the organization of the Lightning Awards Banquet every year. A presentation was made to Tom McGarrigle for having successfully completed the Technical Support Project. Club President Chris Shea inducted Tom as the Club's first Life Member. Tom has been a part of the club since 1980 and has served the club in many capacities as a coach; board member; Vice President and currently as Head Coach Emeritus. Volunteers are a vital part of the club's success and we congratulate Carol, Paul and Tom. Anyone interested in volunteering should call Lynne McGarrigle at the Club Office, 905 472 2869
penalty kicks, Juventus scored on 4 while Markham scored 2. This could not have been much closer. The Markham U14's win Silver, the first Markham youth team to go to the Nationals and the first to win a medal. Despite the disappointment of coming so close to a win in the final, they deserve to be proud of their play.
Masters Final. In the preliminary round, Markham beat New Brunswick 8 - 0 and on Sunday, they beat Nova Scotia by a score of 3 - 0. Both games were played under difficult weather conditions with wind and steady rain on Friday night and a temperature of 7 degrees for the Sunday game.
The Markham Over 35 Men's Team representing Ontario beat PEI by a score of 4 - 1 to win the Masters Eastern National Club Championship on Thanksgiving Monday. The PEI team gave them the toughest game of the series playing a very physical match. Ontario's goals came from Paul Hillman, Bayete Smith, Elvis Thomas and Chris Rowe. 
The Markham Soccer Club is pleased to announce that Thomas Bianchi will be joining the Club's Technical Team as the Goalkeeper Coach. Thomas will be working with MSC's Rep, All-Star and House League Coaches and Goalkeepers to further develop the quality of the goalkeeping in the Club.
Former MSC Lightning star keeper Robert Giacomi has signed a 2 year deal with the KBK Club in Norway. Robert will move right into the number 1 keeper spot at the club.
