Ernesto Rubini, who passed away this August in Toronto, was involved in sport in the Leaside-East York area since his arrival in Thorncliffe in 1976. Ernesto was born in Argenta, Italy. In 1962, Ernesto participated for Italy in the pentathlon for the Italian Army World Champion. After his military service in 1966 he played for the Yverdon Sports Club in Yverdon Switzerland in the Swiss first division. In 1971 he moved to Salisbury, Rhodesia, where he played for the first division team, Salisbury Callies. In Canada in 1976, Ernesto started the Thorncliffe Youth Sports Association, running a youth soccer league there. He was also involved in starting a volleyball league at the Thorncliffe Public School.
From 1986 to 2024 he was involved in all aspects of the Leaside-East Toronto Soccer Club. For over 45 years, Ernesto coached and mentored soccer teams in the Thorncliffe, Flemingdon, and Leaside communities, touching the lives of many players and families. Ernesto was a born leader. He was a resilient, focussed and indefatigable sportsman, who encompassed all virtues that lovers of sports want to see in champions- unbowed in defeat and generous in victory.
(March 29, 1942 – August 16, 2024)