Park Ridge Panthers FC – a Family Affair by Catherine Smart
Front Row: Joshua Smart, Isaiah Smart, Aiden Korner, Liam Korner, Sheldon Korner.
When my children fell in love with the game of soccer, we started off like most families…trying to find a club to join. Park Ridge Panthers was one of the clubs we looked at but was steered away from it because of other people’s opinions of the club which did not necessarily put it in a good light. Massive lesson learned….find things out for yourself!
My family along with other families are now part of the Panthers family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The Panthers are all about family. Our Capital 2 Senior Men’s squad is a perfect example of this. I haven’t come across another team that has 4 sets of siblings playing on the one squad. Our Head Coach, Jorge Ibanez-Formas has his three son’s playing on the team. Add to this my two sons (the Smart siblings), the Martinez siblings and the Korner siblings.
The squad along with the club tries to uphold the value of family, by teaching and modelling respect and compassion. We know that life will often throw us some curveballs so we as a club endeavor to support them through these ups and downs in any way we can. Win, lose or draw we would like everyone to enjoy their sporting experience and build lasting friendships through their involvement with Park Ridge Football.