In an effort to provide a more consistent approach to offering coverage for the wide variety of sports that are highlighted on SudburySports.com, we've decided to include a new feature. Weekly and bi-weekly divisional or league updates will offer a wide array of statistical tidbits, roster updates, tournament results for participating teams. The Italia Flyers will be featured monthly - next update is August 4th

The Italia Flyers soccer club has a rich and vibrant history in Sudbury. Established in 1949 under the name Caruso Club Football Club, the group’s name was changed to the Sudbury Italians in 1951 before they were dubbed the Italia Flyers because of all the trophies and tournaments that they won.

It’s a tradition of success that the club’s vice-president hopes to continue in the future by developing his club’s system, which is comprised of teams at the five-year-old youth level all the way up to the local premiership, including women and men’s teams at both the recreational and competitive level.

“We do sponsor teams at youth level because we want to promote soccer at such an early age and we work really hard at trying to maintain that and keeping kids in the game through the parents and with the parents,” says Adel Zaher, who has been an integral part of the club executive since 1976. “We want the young kids because they are the backbone of the club. I think the best coaches in the city are hooked up with our minor system and we’d like to keep it that way.”

He believes that the Flyers success is in large part due not only to their outstanding coaching staff, but also to the strength of its executive, their commitment to the club, and the willingness of its members to do whatever job is necessary to build the club.

“I think we have a good bunch of men here who are loyal and dedicated, that aim to improve the club, that aim to promote the image of the club, and that aim to help in any way”, said Zaher who has also served as president of the club on numerous occasions.

A member of the Laurentian Soccer Vees in 1969 and the Italia Flyers of the premier division, Zaher points out that the club also operates its own recreational adult league, a responsibility they took over ten years ago from the Sudburnia Soccer Club.

“There was a need for people over 30 to play the game without feeling physically threatened by other competitive players,” he explains. “We instruct our referees to be firm, but gentle with all players. The players understand that this is not a competitive league and that it’s all about recreation.”

There were a small group of initiators who helped the league flourish, according to Zaher, including Vince Panella, Joe Riccio, Sam Borello, the late Angelo Dagostino, and Frank Doni, the man in charge of the discipline for the organization.

“At the level of soccer they are playing, it’s more for the enjoyment of the game, rather than winning the championship,” he says. “If you want to get involved in the game, but you don’t want the competitiveness, this is a good way to stay involved.”

It's a statement Zaher can quite comfortably make given that he's also an athlete in the eight-team league. He plays to stay fit, maintain his level of play, and at the same time, to get some social and physical fulfillment as well. “I just want to maintain the game for as long as I can while I can and I think most people feel that way about it” he says.

At this point, there are no immediate plans to expand the recreational league, but that will all be looked at in the off-season and would depend largely on how many people decide to sign up next year. As far as the premier team goes, the squad currently holds down third place with three wins and a loss. The vice-president believes the focus of the club system will continue to be with that team.

“Our focus has always been the premiere team because it is the backbone of the club and we’d like to see it that way,” he says. “We do give this team an awful lot of support. Our focus for this team is not only to expand soccer experience and soccer excellence but also to work closely with the fair play aspect that FIFA is trying to promote.”

He feels the strength of the team is their chemistry, since most members of the team have been playing together since they got started in soccer at the youth level over 15 years ago. “They’ve developed commaraderie and bondship, both socially and soccer-wise” he says. “They know how to play the game. They can anticipate the way the ball is going to go and they can anticipate the play. They just play really well together.”

As far as any changes or improvements for the team, Zaher, who is also a retired special education consultant for the catholic district school board, says he’s very happy with the team overall and believes the only thing they need to work on is their discipline.

“I feel the players are too hard on themselves sometimes,” he says. “They beat themselves up whenever they lose a game. They take it very harshly and very badly. I think the attitudes have to continue to improve and they have in the past.”

Trying to find a solution to the issue at hand, Zaher reminds players that the best thing they can do is do is to compete with a full effort, without getting overly upset about a referee’s decision or a bad loss and that they should show up to every game with a positive attitude knowing that it’s a brand new game.

“The players took it upon themselves this year to better themselves, in terms of the discipline that is displayed on the field,” he says. “We commend them every time. We try to stroke them a lot, but we can’t do enough of that. They really are a nice bunch of guys.”

Ultimately, Zaher’s goal is to stay in the game for as long as he can for the love of the game, the love of the people who keep the game going in this community and to make sure the club’s goal continues to be to promote soccer locally. “I think that we need to strive to do our best on and off the field and to continue to promote sportsmanship, fair play and soccer excellence at all levels, wether it be recreational or competitive” he says.

"We want the kids to display soccer sportsmanship, to respect the judgments of the referees, to shake the hands of players if they get injured, to play with honesty and a respectful attitude.” The club has come a long way in the last half century. In fact, the 57-year-old remembers a time when the club took over a city contract in which the kids on the club’s various teams delivered flyers to every house in Sudbury notifying people of garbage pick-up in order to raise money for soccer balls and various other types of equipment.

It’s a story that Zaher believes speaks to the tradition of the team locally and their dedication to success. “We’ve definitely come along way.”