Altamirano applying lessons learned

A long-time soccer connection inspired Ashley Altamirano to try out for the St. Catharines Roma Wolves of the League1 Ontario Women’s Premier Division.

“I found out that Luc (Ianiero) was the coach and he has literally been my club coach from Grade 9 all the way until I went to Brock,” the 27-year-old Thorold native said. “I love his coaching style and I am the player I am because of him. I just thought why not go back to competitive soccer for a few more years?”

The Denis Morris grad is clearly a big fan of Ianiero’s.

“He plays a different style compared to all the other coaches that I have had in Niagara. He looks at possession and I am a smaller player in general so I am not the ideal body size that you would see in university or college. But he never doubted me,” she said. “My size was an issue at Brock and I was told many times that I was a smaller player and I needed to get bigger. He always gave me the confidence and he is a girl coach. He can really coach women and he is good at it.”

Ianiero is glad to have Altamirano on his roster.

“I have known her since she was 10 years old and I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing,” he said, with a smile. “I have always liked her style of play and her composure on the ball which is what really attracted me to wanting her to be on my team and any team that I coach.”

He also likes her confidence.

“She doesn’t hide and she looks to get the ball on the field.”

Like the team, Altamirano is in her second year in the league and she is applying the lessons she learned in 2022.

“I had never played League1 and I didn’t know what to expect going into it. Kasia (Bak) and I had the experience of playing university and college but the competition was very high last year,” she said. “To get back into that competitive style was definitely a challenge because it is great soccer. There are high quality players on every team.”

Her approach to the 2023 season changed because of her experiences last year.

“Coming into this season everyone knew what to expect and personally I did more strength training, I did a lot more runs and I tried to get more touches on the ball throughout the winter.”

Those touches came in a co-ed soccer league Sunday nights in Welland.

“That was my happy place. I am so competitive throughout the summer that playing that in the winter really does remind me why I play the sport so much,” said the former Ontario Colleges Athletic Association all-star at Niagara College. “It’s so laid-back but the guys in that league are so good too.”

Roma also held winter sessions and Altamirano made sure she participated in them.

Her off-season preparations have paid off.

“I think I was a lot more calm knowing that I had done my best going into the season. The shape I am in now is where I was mid-season last year.”

She loves League1.

“Even at 27, you would think I would be trying to settle down but I am having so much fun and I learn something new every single practice and game. Every week we are getting new, high-quality players coming to our practices and it brings the intensity up every week,” she said. “All the girls on the team are awesome and I have never been on a team where every single person is a really good player.”

As befitting the ages of Altamirano and Bak, the other players on the team call them the seniors.

“It is different being the older ones but if you were to come to one of our practices and see Kasia and I, you would think that we are the youngest,” the attacking and defensive midfielder said. “We all mesh really well.”

Away from the pitch, Altamirano is working full-time as a dental hygienist and she recently started  the bachelor of science dental hygiene program at George Brown College.

“I’m a busy person but I like it. I can’t stay still and I have really good time management skills to balance everything.”

The Wolves lost 2-1 at home Friday night to the North Toronto Nitros. Arianna Zumpano scored for the Wolves and Kiyomi McCausland and Isabella Mazzaferro replied for the Nitros.

The Wolves fell to 2-4 with the loss while third-place North Toronto improved to 5-0-1 with the victory.

Roma hosts the Woodbridge Strikers (1-1-2) Wednesday at 8:45 p.m.