It’s with a mix of sadness and hopefulness that we say goodbye to our longtime Huntsville Soccer Club (and Muskoka United FC) President Ted Maduri.

Ted has been a driving force behind so much amazing growth for our sport in Huntsville and Muskoka as a whole.

Never asking for thanks or praise, Ted was an exceptional youth team coach for both his daughter Sophia and son Andrew year after year.

His passion for soccer is evident to all who met him at the field, be it players, parents, and indeed board members.

Watching him run practices, pace the sidelines at games, and push his players to be their best gave us a great insight into Ted’s love of the sport. Not many we’ve met can match that spirit.

With a fair mindedness and drive for results, Ted helped the board become more efficient and effective through the ups and downs that occurred due to the lean pandemic years.

One of the founding members of Muskoka United FC, Ted was instrumental in ensuring the idea became a reality, but also that it had the foundation to grow into something special in the future long after he was off the board.

In fact, when Ted joined the board, we not only got him as a volunteer, but his whole family too.

Whether it was Becky, Sophia, Andrew, or even Ben (who is more about comic books than corner kicks), the family showed up to soccer days, set ups and tear downs, helped manage and coach and house thousands of kits and equipment at your house.

Andrew took after his dad as a fantastic coach and program coordinator for many years for Huntsville’s house league programs as well.

So, it’s not only our beloved president Ted who will be greatly missed by all of us, but the whole Maduri family, as they all provided so much to our clubs and our community.

We wish them all the best, healthiest, successful futures possible!

Though much of the former is from our respective boards’ perspectives, the rest is straight from my heart and a direct message to my friend.

It has been an honour, a privilege, and a great pleasure to work with you for so many years on and off the pitch.

Not only have we become wonderful friends, but I know we’re both huge fans of each other’s children and cheer for their successes (especially on the field hahaha).

One of my favourite things about you (as I have mentioned before) is that when you’re super busy with work or family, your text replies are super brief. The coolest thing is that you still reply even when busy.

I know you’re not one who craves the spotlight or the adoration of others, so I’ll keep this as short as possible, but our clubs would not be as strong as they are if it weren’t for your leadership and strength of character.

How many times did you present the other side of the coin to me (and others) in an effort to make a well-rounded decision? How many times did you just do something because it needed to be done – time constraints be damned!?

The answer is always when it came to soccer in Huntsville and Muskoka.

I could go on and on and on (and often do), but I’m going to cut this a bit short (well, relatively short hehehe).

Thank you, my friend, for all the time, energy and commitment! I’ll likely miss your presence in our clubs more than most . . . unless we decide to become board members together again somewhere else (insert winking emoji here).

So, maybe, this is more of a to be continued . . . or maybe not (hehehe).

That’s it for me! Ciao for Now!