Final whistle: MVP of youth soccer in the Sault retires

If you or your child has been registered in the youth soccer scene over the past two decades, it’s likely Shirley Robertson’s fingerprints are all over the application. Now, after 22 years, the Sault Youth Soccer Club (SYSC) office manager is settling in to a well-deserved retirement.

Robertson was hired when the club was still known as the Sault Amateur Soccer Association. In all of those years, she was the voice behind every phone call, personally registering every player who played youth soccer in the city and ordering all of the jerseys and trophies.

“We are going to miss Shirley’s dedication to the sport of soccer in Sault Ste. Marie,” said Steve Mazzuca, President of SYSC. “She has always been there for us. We are truly going to miss her.”

“I remember my first day on the job," Robertson said in a news release. "Cathy Trevisan said, I want you to file all of these papers. That’s where it all began. Then the phones started ringing and never stopped."

Reached by phone on Monday, the club's media and sponsorship director Sam Cistaro said Robertson has probably seen 50 board members or more come through the clubs over the 22 years.

Robertson said working with all of the staff over the years meant a lot to her.

“Each year the staff would turn over and I enjoyed meeting all of the new faces that would walk in,” she said in the release.

Two new members are set to be elected to the board at its next annual general meeting in February.

“Every two years all of the positions come up for renewal, so you have to apply,” said Cistaro. “We always encourage people in the soccer community, whether they are just starting out or have a kid at the end of the soccer spectrum to sign up.”

Cistaro said the board took Robertson out for a retirement dinner recently and bought her flowers.

A new office manager will be announced by SYSC in the coming weeks.