Children in Dollard have been playing organized soccer since 1968. Although there have been many changes - back then the registration fee was ten dollars - it has always been about boys and girls playing soccer, having fun and striving for excellence.
In the beginning there were two fields. Westpark (later re-named Terry Fox) and Sunnybrook Park. Soccer games were played between the parks, thus the origin of the term “Inter-park”. In 1978 a group of dedicated Pioneers incorporated all the teams and created the “Dollard Soccer Association“.
One of the oldest members of the Lac St-Louis Regional Soccer Association, the Dollard Soccer Association together with our neighbours in Pierrefonds, Ile Bizard and Roxboro were the founding members of the West Island Soccer League, also known as the WISL, which was the model in organizing 11-aside House League teams from different cities in a non-competitive League, today known as Division 3.
In 2002, the Roxboro Soccer Association joined us and together the Dollard Soccer Club was formed. As the sport gained in popularity, the number of volunteers needed to organize all the activities was also growing. Even our present mayor, Mr. Edward Janiszewski, was involved when his sons were playing. The City Council named a park in his honour and for his contributions to recreational activities in Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
In 1999 the Club hired Valerio Gazzola, a former Impact coach as its first full time Technical Director. He stayed with the club for eight years. Our Club has hosted a U15M National All-star Championship and in 2003 the AAA Cup together with Ile Bizard Soccer Club. In 2006 an “International Cup-Kids playing for Kids” Tournament was created to raise money for Sainte-Justine Hospital and the Montreal Children’s Hospital and in 2007 it was voted “The Best Event of the Year” by FSQ.
In 2005 a new artificial turf field was built and in 2009 a second artificial field was built in which 7-aside games can be played as well. In total, Dollard has nine micro fields, ten 7-aside fields and nine 11-aside fields, which gives us room to grow. Some of the Club’s earlier Presidents include Peter Davies, George Bichara, Raymond Boivert, Giovani Iadeluca, Jan Marek, Serge Paquette and more recently Eyal Baruch. The current President is long time volunteer Eddie Vallee.
The Dollard Soccer Club has about 2,600 players and 300 volunteers.
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