Player Highlight: Vinicius Da Silva, Men’s Soccer/Futsal

A change in continents has led to a unique opportunity Vinicius Da Silva is grateful for.

The second year midfielder recently wrapped play at the second Northeast Regional for ACAC Futsal, where he and the rest of Lakeland's men's team qualified for the ACAC Championship in March. After a disappointing result during the soccer season, Da Silva said it's exciting to return to postseason play.

Soccer was not like we expected, but futsal I had confidence we would make it," he said. "We figured out a lot of things before the regional tournaments and I've enjoyed working with coach Hani Tekheste."

Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil where the population is more than 12 million, Da Silva grew up playing soccer and wanted to be able to study abroad and get an international diploma in English. Connecting with former coach Kevin Wagner, he then journeyed  to a new country, new climate and much smaller city. While the stark contrast in population density and climate was a difficult adjustment. Da Silva said he's grateful for coming to the Border City.

"I'll be honest, I thought I wasn't going to like the city, given the size difference," Da Silva said. "But I found people have been very welcoming. The community has really wanted to help and when I started coaching kids, I met even more people."

"First winter was tough, but it's fine now, no issues."

The savvy midfielder said his growth as a player was also benefited by the decision to play here.

"My biggest challenge was in soccer, because I had expectations," Da Silva said. "Kevin helped motivate me since the beginning to get in better shape, to come back stronger.""Futsal I started to deliver on what I was supposed to and during the summer I worked increasingly. I just want to give back to Lakeland and the community."

Da Silva planned to visit Toronto over the summer, but ended up staying in Lloydminster, where he did more community coaching. The experience convinced him to keep pursuing that as part of his passion for the sport.

"I always wanted to be a soccer player, but soon as I got older and thought about after playing, my parents said to try to work with something you like," Da Silva said. "Soccer is growing here last couple years and this first experience over the summer was great. I think that's what I want to do moving forward."

Next summer, #18 plans on staying in Lloydminster again, though he may have a visit at home before the soccer season kicks off. For now, he and the rest of the Rustlers are focused on winning their quarterfinal matchup at the ACAC Championship. The squad has more than a month until competition, where Da Silva said the standard must be high.

"Our objective is to win a medal," he said. "It's not really good to have this big a break, but we can work on a lot of pieces, and this month should be good for us, working on areas we were lacking at during the regional tournaments."

Vinicius Da Silva is in his second year of Business Administration at Lakeland College. The men's futsal team are playoff bound March 20-22 in Medicine Hat.