Caboto president calls Hall of Fame honour ‘a huge compliment’ to 75 years of volunteers
For 75 years, the Caboto Soccer Club has been bringing people into the game. On Saturday night, the club was brought into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame.
Caboto received Team of the Year by the hall Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame with club president Egidio Mosca and members of the board accepting the award.
Mosca says the honour belongs to everyone who has been part of the club. “75 years of volunteers, coaches, committee members, parents, players. It just recognizes all of that that history,” Mosca told PowerplayWindsor.com. “It’s never been about two people or five people. It’s always been about hundreds, and now we’re into the thousands of people. So it’s just a huge compliment to all of those people over the years.”
The numbers back that up. For the last 13 or 14 years, Caboto has registered 600 to 700 players a season. Mosca estimates the total over 75 years is in the tens of thousands.
The club’s reach goes beyond its own fields. Former Caboto members have gone on to help start other clubs in the area. “People have come from this club and helped found other clubs that have increased the beauty of the game in the district,” Mosca said. “I think it started here and it’s just gotten bigger and bigger.”
Today, more than 9,000 to 10,000 players take part in soccer across the district each year.
For Mosca, the game has given back just as much.
“For me personally, it’s just been an incredible way to meet people and make great relationships over the years,” he said.
Also honoured at this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony were inductees Brandon McBride (track and field), Kamau Peterson (football), Amanda Reason (swimming) and Michael Whitehead (wheelchair rugby). Egidio Novelletto (handicapable soccer) and Ross Spettigue (football) received Builder’s Awards, and Lucien Gava received the Bob Turner Award.