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mmm mmmmmmm vm witehiin air corfflfhomng systems 172bunockdtrve unil27mafkham conomomng ckdtrve unit 2 1 rvud v 4711748 tribune frirs community sports leisure entertainment serving whitchurchstouffville uxbridge and area m nba fes t raopbtt r eyauutm call uu bait 64m9b reimxiiupfical realtutd a metroland community newspaper wednesday january 25 1989 mr j receives royal treatment by brlce staplev martin johannessen the man who guided the stouffville royals soccer team from infancy to maturity met with his boys for the last time on saturday the occasion was to honor the players and their coach a suc cessful combination through u memorable years the royals have come to the end of the road education and careers are beginning to take precedence over sport for martin crossing the goal line a final time allows him an op portunity to stand back and reflect on his involvement with this group of teens lads hes coached since they were old enough to boot a ball weve travelled all over north america together mar tin says thinking back three consecutive wins the royals won the york regional soccer championship three years in a row thev were edged 21 in the 1988 final theyve played in dallas con necticut calgary and quebec theyve also hosted teams from europe stouffville soccer club bids fond farewell to martin johannessen a veteran coach who led the team to 11 years of success martins justly proud of the fact club members have been fine ambassadors for the sport both on and off the field never once did they let our town down their conduct has always been gentlemanly no one has ever run afoul of the law he says with pride expects dedication martin feels the boys have learned much about life through the game of soccer character development plus lasting friendships most important he says theyve learned team work that you win together and you lose together he explains losing however was something the royals knew little about they completed last season with a 1211 record tak ing the league title and falling just short in the regional finals ive always expected dedica tion he says and they never let me down while the royals could have competed in the newmarket and district soccer league this sum mer martin realized the time had come for his boys to pursue other life concerns itll also give him a much deserved rest ill still be involved in special coaching clinics he notes and ill remain on the executive of the york region soccer association as a director of player development but basically hes taking a year off for martin coaching was a fournightaweek commitment he has been involved with soc cer all his life beginning as a kid martins involvement with the royals in the last decade was officially recognized by town officials at his farewell roast when he was awarded a town pin by ward 1 councillor margot marshall martins love of soccer has its roots in glasgow scotland where he was an avid player and fan as a boy in glasgow scotland before moving to stouffville in 1976 he was active as a player in the toronto and district soccer league and a toronto industrial league after taking up residence in stouffville he immediately became involved with the local soccer club the organization had just started he remembers i went to a meeting and the next thing i knew i was the treasurer soccer wasnt his only sports interest however martin also served as a coach of several house league hockey teams on which son craig was a member but soccer was and still is his first love adults needed martin is a firm believer in the adults of the community giving of their time and talents towards developing the character and talents of youth it disappoints me to see some of the old school european soc cer types in whitchurch- stouffville pulling out of the club kids in the 15 to 17 year bracket should be kept busy they need people to come out and help get them involved too many fathers he says are too interested in furthering their own playing interests also he admits stouffville is no longer the stayput community it once was the qualified people are play ing old timers soccer martin explains i guess its a carry over from the me generation they want to do their own thing it so often seems to come down to the ultimatum you announce that if no one shows up the club will fold as for the changing nature of stouffville martin says its dif ficult to obtain longterm com mitments when folks are coming and going continually interest increased people are transferred or just move on theres not the stability here there once was he says however theres been a recent upswing in interest that has him optimistic concerning the future of the whitchurchstouffville soc cer club im encouraged by the sup port the club is receiving from new people here perhaps the pendulum is swinging back he states regardless after 11 years of dedication a time out for martin is appropriate it was three cheers and a tiger saturday night with the roster of the stouf fville royals leading the last hurrah photojim thomas with the stouffville royals soccer club trophy in the foreground veteran royals coach martin johannessen gives his farewell speech to club supporters and the teen members of his successful squad after 1 1 years of leading the team to countless victories martin is taking time off to do other things emotional farewell soccer coach martin johannessen planned to honor his players however the players and their parents turned the tables the team served as hosts mr j was their guest the boys some travelling many miles to attend honored their headmaster of 11 seasons at a royal reunion saturday in stouffvilles latcham hall the auditorium was beautifully decorated in blue and gold the teams colors with photos and clippings lining the walls each of the boys addressed the gathering some recalling in teresting little anecdotes all praised mr j for his sportsman ship enthusiasm and knowledge of the game the association thanks to mr johannessen has made me a better man said one it was an experience ill never forget other speakers included tony casole of the york region soccer association casey van maris of the ontario soccer association league president bob tillev and councillor margot marshall town of whitchurchstouffville the evenings emcee was rick hollin mr johannessen was presented with a huge trophy bearing each of the players names a town pin was presented by mrs marshall mr van maris called it a fantastic 11 years in soccer mr casole said mr johannessen represents the wisdom of a coach the knowledge of a player and the pride of a parent martin is a combination of all three he stated mr johannessen in reply said win or lose the royals had always given it their best thats all you have to do in life martin took time to discuss the finer points o soccer among other things with len mussell and ron cook two fathers whose boys play on martins winning team after 11 years together team members are hanging up their jerseys to concentrate on education and careers martin vows to remain involved in local soccer by conducting special coaching clinics and remaining as the director of player development for the york region soccer association royals players llndley mussell and jay edwards mr j under martins direction the royals were led have put in a lot of time with the squad over the to a number of league and tournament honors in years here they ham it up at the teams farewell their 11 years together party for martin whom they affectionately refer to as horsing around is serious business to the howe family uf pagee3 v theres no business like snow business for dagmar resort owner turn to page c5 trespassers will be prosecuted say railroad operators turn to page c14 i v tarn