Tillsonburg 14-year-old played soccer in Italy

Ethan Gazley of Tillsonburg played with the Toronto Cherry Beach Soccer Club at a recent tournament in Italy. He normally plays with the London FC. (Contributed Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

A Tillsonburg teen was part of a Canadian club that played in Italy.

Ethan Gazley, 14, a Grade 8 Westfield Public School student, plays soccer for London FC. To understand how he ended up on an Italian soccer pitch, it’s necessary to step back in time.

Ethan started playing when he was four, and living in Ohio. He continued to play after moving to Tillsonburg when he was nine. While playing for Tillsonburg FC, he came to know John Twinem. When Twinem was asked by coaching staff with the Cherry Beach Soccer Club in Toronto if he knew of any top-rate goaltenders who might be interested in the Italy experience, he recommended Ethan.

One of the coaches of Ethan’s team was his brother Austin while he played in Tillsonburg.

“It originally started because there was no goalie and Austin made his brother go in net,” mother Christina recounted. “He was natural and kept at it.”

Being in net was Ethan’s ticket to make it to London. This takes a big commitment on his, and his parents’ part, as he has to be in London four times per week. His team finished six of 10 teams in the league last year, but Ethan was tied to lead the league with the most shutouts.

From Twinem’s recommendation, it was all on Ethan’s shoulders. He tried out for Cherry Beach in November after training with private goaltender coach Rob Stillo of Toronto in Sicily.

“We weren’t even out of Toronto and Vladimir (the Cherry Beach coach) was messaging he wanted Ethan to come with them,” said Ethan’s mother Christina.

There wasn’t a quick “yes”, but after thinking about it, Ethan joined the team.

The Cherry Beach team and parent escorts were in Italy from May 21 to 31. They stayed in San Donato, about two hours outside Rome where the games were held. The competition was top-notch, as many of the big clubs in Italy have academy teams for younger players. Those were some of the players that Ethan faced.

Cherry Beach came away with a two-win, two-loss and one-tie record. Along the way, Ethan got two shut-outs. One of the games was against Latzio Serie A, an academy team.

His parents said the level of play in Italy is superior to Canada.

“Soccer in Italy is a way of life,” said father Mike. “You live, eat and breath soccer. It’s like hockey in Canada.”

Asked about the reason behind his love of the game, Ethan answered, “It’s probably Austin. We would to the fields when I was young and kick a ball around all the time. It just grew on me.”

He talked about the secret to playing at such a high level.

“It’s mostly reaction time,” Ethan said. “You have to have good reaction time to be at a higher level.”

His dream is to play soccer in Europe in the future, perhaps as part of a scholarship at an Italian university. There were scouts at one of the games, so that isn’t entirely an unattainable dream.