June 26, 2014 League 1 Ontario--Week 4 Player of the Week Andrew Ornoch (from League 1 Ontario website)

  
League1, Week Four: Player of the Week
. Thu Jun 26 
Written By: Rollins, Duane  

Few players in League1 have had the type of experience that this week's a Player of the Week, Andrew Ornoch, 
has had.

The forward, who scored a brace in Vaughan Azzuri's 4-1 win over crosstown rival Woodbridge Strikers last 
week to earn the honour, had a pro career that took him to Hungary, Denmark and The Netherlands. 

Most recently, he was playing for the Dutch side Telstar.

However, last year he found himself out of contract, and with an injury that just wasn't going away. 
He knew he had no choice. He had to make the most difficult choice that any athlete can make.

He knew it was time to retire from fully professional soccer.

However, he also knew that he wasn't ready to let go of the game completely. He wanted to give back 
through coaching, but before he dove into that on a full-time basis he still had some competitive 
fires to extinguish. 

The launch of League1 Ontario provides a perfect opportunity to do just that. 

"I couldn't imagine not playing at all," he said. "So when (Vaughan head coach) Carmine (Isacco) 
approached me, it was a great opportunity to play in a great environment with a great bunch of guys."

He pointed to a long history, dating back to his youth career in Mississauga, with Isacco 
as a big factor in his decision.

"Carm is just so respected by everyone involved (in Ontario soccer). He knew me from way back and 
I just have a lot of respect for him," he said.

However, Ornoch stresses it's not just for personal accomplishments, like winning player-of-the-week, 
that brought him back to the pitch. He has a player-coach role with the Azzuri. He wants to grow
 as a teacher of the game so that he can give back.

"I think that I can be a mentor to the younger guys," he said. "I have some good experience 
working with some great coaches in The Netherlands, and I can hopefully pass some of what 
I learned on to the younger guys."

Ornoch likes what he sees so far.

"League1 is a great initiative and as it grows it will continue to provide young players with 
a good opportunity to advance their game to another level." 

back to League 1 Ontario 2014 menu

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