Beach soccer player Cole Harmer training with the Juventus Residency Academy in Italy

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

From TFC (Toronto Football Club) to Cantalupa, Italy and the famed Juventus club; 16-year-old Beacher Cole Harmer is taking his passion for soccer to new heights and greater lengths.

Before moving to Italy to further his soccer career, Harmer had always called the Beach home.

He attended Williamson Road Junior Public School, Glen Ames Senior Public School, and Malvern Collegiate Institute.

Harmer was at the local high school for Grade 9 to Grade 11. Since mid-August, though, he has been studying online and training at the Juventus Residency Academy in Cantalupa; a small town outside of Turin near the Swiss border.

He plans to return to Canada next May to complete his high school studies at Malvern.

As he acclimates to life in a new country, Harmer said he is thankful for the opportunity to improve his soccer skills at a prestigious academy like Juventus.

“Being away from home and friends is an adjustment, but the training he is receiving from Juventus is excellent,” Cole’s mother Liz told Beach Metro Community News recently.

Harmer will be under a rigorous training regimen while he plays in Italy: with one to two training sessions per day with Juventus coaches, games every week against other Italian teams, and Italian classes and cultural excursions.

Harmer’s passion for the sport started at four when he was enrolled in the Beach Community Soccer league. His soccer skills would later bring him to the Cherry Beach Soccer Club, where he played for five years. For the last five years, Harmer has attended the TFC Academy and played in both the MLS Next and OPDL (Ontario Player Development League) leagues.

Harmer believes that his beginnings in the Beach community helped his soccer career to develop and flourish as he grew up.

“Starting out at Beach Community Soccer was a great start,” he said in a recent interview with Beach Metro Community News.

“Beach Community Soccer was all about having fun and being with friends and family. I think it’s important to have fun when you’re just starting out.”

After five years at TFC, Harmer and his family decided that it was time to move on. Through connections in the local soccer network, they discovered the Juventus Residency Academy where Harmer was offered a scholarship to attend.

Liz Harmer believes that the transition to playing in Italy  –  a country with a strong soccer culture  –  will have a positive outlook on Cole’s career in the sport.

“It’s a great learning experience. Soccer is deeply ingrained in the Italian culture. It helps the boys focus,” she said.

Looking back on his career thus far, Harmer mentioned some of the coaches who pushed him to be the best player he could be. He said coaches such as Dimitri Evdoxiadis and Damian Gray at Cherry Beach, Dino Lopez at TFC, and Arman Mohammadi, all stood out as prominent figures on his path to success.

For Harmer, “complexity, strategy, and being part of a team” are what draw him to the sport. To be involved in something globally celebrated is what makes soccer such an important part of his life, he said.

“There is a reason why soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It’s played everywhere in so many countries,” said Harmer.