Sat June 18, 2016 League 1 Ontario--Watchlist: Durham United FA (from League 1 Ontario website)

Watchlist: Durham United FA
06/18/2016, 2:15pm EDT
By Anthony Gallo

It's part-way through their third season in League1 Ontario, and Durham United 
Football Alliance (DUFA) has grown with the league to the point where both their 
men's and women's teams are among the best in their respective divisions, setting 
a high standard for teams to follow on and off the pitch. 

Last season - the first year League1 had a women’s division - Durham United came 
out on top, dominating the division and only losing twice all year. They also 
had three players that finished near the top of goal-scoring list: current 
Canada U20 player Alex Lamontagne, Ashford University alumni Hollie Babut, 
and former track star Geneva Winterink.

And Durham has managed to move players on to higher levels as well. 
Two of last year's League1 all-stars, Nora Abolins and Joe Zupo, have since 
left to professional opportunities in Sweden (QBIK Karlstad) and Australia 
(Devonport Strikers). Who will be the next DUFA product?

So far this season, both the men and women team’s have been consistently 
in the top three of their standings and have been able to showcase some 
very talented players indeed, in many cases players that have been 
locally developed.

Players like York University’s Eddie Lay, Humber College’s Joshua Parades, 
former Robert Morris fullback Bruce Cullen and Vermont Catamounts' 
Stefan Lamanna.

In addition, the team can rely on players with international profile, 
including Taylor Lord (Canada U23), and Jacob Sooklal 
(Trinidad and Tobago U20). 

And Durham United is wearing its heart on the sleeve, literally, 
with a new identity cultivated in recent years. 

When Durham United had to renew their licence for 2016, general manager 
Corrado Roccasalva, along with his board members, thought it would 
be appropriate to rename the club as a "football alliance" rather 
than a "football club."

"Our thinking was to try and include as many as the clubs in Durham 
region to try and work with us. We thought it was important that 
we just not associate with Pickering, but make sure everyone from 
the region saw us as an inclusive project," said Roccasalva.

He also mentioned that the club's colours are a tribute for all 
the club’s involved with Durham United, (West Rouge FC and 
Oshawa Kicks).

Even though the club is no longer a "football club" their strategy 
hasn’t changed.

"Our mandate is still the same, we are still looking to make 
soccer the best it can be in the region and we're willing 
to work with anybody in the region who wants to participate," 
said Roccasalva.

"Our strategy is to promote the program. Our elite player pathway 
is first, which starts with OPDL and U-13 and lead into our 
League1 program."

Having locally developed talent is important for Durham United 
and something that all the coaches think is key for showcasing 
players that have gone through their youth ranks.

"The idea for Durham FA was to create a team in the region that 
all the clubs aspire to. Whenever a male or female are finished 
with the youth club at 18, they can all funnel into one senior 
team if they were looking for an elite pathway," said men's 
head coach Sanford Carabin.

Carabin also mentioned that having youth players on the League1 
game sheet is important, since it gives them an outlook on what 
can happen with Durham United. The club always has at least 
two players that have been called up from their youth ranks.

On the women’s side, head coach Ron Clarke is one third into 
his first season with a team that won the league title in 2015. 
Clarke mentioned that the job has its challenges, but the key 
of it all is to know your players and what they can achieve.

In the case of his current squad, they are clearly capable 
of great achievements. No less than six players have been 
or are currently involved in national programs, including 
sister duo Kayla and Brianna De Souza (Guyana WNT), 
Keona Simmonds (Jamaica U20), Diarra Simmons 
(Trinidad and Tobago U20), Madeline Iozzi (Canada U17) 
and Lamontagne (Canada U20). 

"As a new coach coming in, I think the challenge is always 
the players have to get to know you, and you have to get 
to know the players," said Clarke.

"Luckily I was the men's assistant coach previously, 
and the men and women used to train together once and 
a while, so I know a lot of the players."

Being a part of the men’s team last year, Clarke mentioned 
that both teams have the same philosophy, which pushes 
the players to fight for a spot in the starting lineup.

"We've created an environment at the men and women's side 
that say "we always pick the best eleven, you're always 
in a competitive environment, and at the end of the day 
we're looking to get ready for the next match."

This is Carabin's second year with the team, and one thing 
he knows his players will do, is give it their best every 
game because they know their team and coaching staff will 
give them the best opportunity to develop their game 
and grow as players.

"They know that if they come in and develop well, that 
the club and myself will do our best to reach out to our 
network and get them an opportunity at the next level," 
said Carabin.

back to 2016 League 1 Ontario Men's index

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