By: Mr. Maule
This is an inspirational story in which a rag tag collection of football (soccer) players excelled under the direction of a manager new to FHCI sports to win the City Championship of Toronto.
The journey began through the efforts of James Ramezani and Arshia Ghanadha to bring a team back to FHCI. Their initial efforts failed. Two faculty stalwarts, one in the Physical Education Department and one in the Geography Department, turned down the opportunity to manage the team. What to do? No one seemed to want to take the responsibility. But James and Arshia did not give up—they were determined to have a team and find a manager. And, as they told me, “We will win the championship for Forest Hill.”
Their determination paid off when Mr. Ferroni agreed to guide the squad. It almost didn’t happen. As Mr. Ferroni explained, “James had approached me the year before to manage the team, but I really did not want to do it, and said no. However I promised that if a manager was required for the 2018 season, I would be available.” He did this thinking his return to Forest Hill was highly unlikely. But, Mr. Ferroni is an honest man, and kept his promise. He advised James and Arshia that he was available to manage the team.
The team encountered some early setbacks. However, they held a meeting and made some key changes. One of these moves was to get Julien Chanel off the bench and onto the pitch. Another key motivation was to believe in themselves and press forward on the field, never giving up, and always attacking in the belief that they could win.
Certain players should be mentioned for their superb play. For example, striker Alessandro Fabiano the future star for Juventus, Silvio Monaco, and Marko Turic for scoring many key goals that kept the Falcons in the game. Nathan Wilkie was a rock in the midfield, and James and Andreas Levine shone in defence to keep the opposition at bay. Not to be forgotten is the key assist made by Arshia.
These are your heroes, Forest Hill: the 2018 Football Champions! We are proud of their achievement, their character, and their never-ending drive to succeed. They made go on their promise to bring the City Championship home to Forest Hill. Congratulations.