A.C. Milan Youth Soccer Tournament (April 2007)

Gianni Marotta’s dream was to bring opportunities to the youth of the Province of Ragusa, his birthplace—Hands-On Sicily’s, too! Together we produced this TV spot for Ragusa Costa d’Oro, filming on the beach directly under Sally’s grandfather’s balcony and at Milanello with Paolo Maldini

When Gianni Marotta, gardener-for-the-stars in Milan, offered to hook Ragusa up with his client, Italian soccer legend Paolo Maldini (captain of A.C. Milan at the time), Sally Veillette, founder of Hands-On Sicily, got right to work. Teaming with Ragusa sports commissioner Ciccio Barone (in what we hadn’t realized was a first-time event of its kind), Gianni and Sally brought six teams of 12-year old athletes together for the premier edition of Ragusa Costa d’Oro tournament for youth aged 12 and under. Dinamo Zagabria won over A.C. Milan’s youth team, Palermo, Messina, Alcamo, Rossolini, Ragusa and Ragusa Costa d’Oro in an impressive display of teammanship.

Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini generously donated his image to the event. Meeting him in the exclusive Milanello training camp near Milan was a privilege.

“Looking back on it, we were naïve,” says Veillette. “We didn’t realize that normally the City Hall would have just funded these events, not help manage them. But at the time Hands-On Sicily had just four hands—Gianni’s and mine (and he was in Milan!). We didn’t know that sponsors often promised, but didn’t deliver. We had no idea how many ‘firsts’ we’d accomplished, on all levels.”

What was most interesting of all is that Sally’s own Sicilian family didn’t want her to be involved in community development, fearing the she would become disappointed by the lack of political, civic and financial support. “But I couldn’t not do it,” Sally explains. “When I believe so strongly in something, it hurts if I hold myself back.”

The tournament bridged two realities—the American/Milanese and Sicilian. People who believed in Sicily’s gifts and those who may have been burned out by pushing against the “muro di gomma” (rubber wall). Those who were trained to be active to succeed, and those trained to fly under the radar. Those who naïvely dove in, spoke up and asked lots of questions, and those used to passive forms of respect and omerta’.  With each step, this diversity came alive—at times gracefully and at times like cymbals crashing—then produced ground-breaking results.

Special thanks go to Gianni Marotta (who, next to the children, was the protagonist of the tournament), the Ragusan City Hall (particularly Assessore Ciccio Barone and Salvatore Giuffrida), advertising executives Giovanni Pagano from Milan and Maurizio Nicastro from Ragusa, and carabiniere Angelo Burgio of COBAR.

When we proposed the project to Ragusa, we were surprised that they were surprised about A.C. Milan’s keen interest. (“Who wouldn’t be interested in Sicily?!?” we thought.)

Sally wrote enthusiastically for Mimi’ Arezzo’s Pungiglione

Young Chiara, Sally’s daughter, may have been the only person who had no idea who Paolo Maldini was.

When Angelo Burgio, carabiniere of COBAR, heard about the wide scope of this project, he brought in reinforcements. General Arturo Esposito flew in from Palermo by helicopter—a real crowd pleaser at half-time.

One of the youth teams associated with the A.C. Milan professional team arrives from Cimiano.

International youth face Sicilians in Ragusa Costa d’Oro 2007

Dinamo Zagabria first won over the crowd, then moved on to victory

Would Gianni and Sally do it again, you ask? Yes. In 2008, with Gianni’s vision, Ragusa hosted its first summer soccer camp coached by A.C. Milan professionals

Sally claims that the heart of Sicily—il cuore—was a winner, too

High school volunteers from Seattle designed this English-language brochure to promote the soccer camp. [Volunteer week article]