Cardinals' Armiento an explosive talent

BY SCOTT HADDOW

Explosive emotions are a double-edged sword for St. Charles College multi-sport athlete Marco Armiento.

On one side, his fiery emotions propel him to great heights in competition. On the other side, his extreme emotions have gotten the best of him sometimes and impacted him negatively in competition.

It's a fine line Armiento walks and he's learning to keep his emotions under control while maintaining his raging competitive fire in his final year of high school.

It's not always easy as his will to win consumes him in the heat of battle.

The Cardinals' athlete competes in three major sports - football, hockey and soccer.

Although the sports are vastly different, Armiento's goal remains the same for all: help his teams win championships.

There is no denying Armiento has talent and stands out from many athletes, not just at St. Charles, but the entire city.

In football, Armiento was an all-around force, playing multiple positions on both the offence and defence. He also did a lot of kicking for the team as well. He was one of the top offensive and defensive players in the league and made opposing defences and offences pay dearly for mistakes.

In hockey, Armiento has continued to show his skill, scoring 15 goals and 20 points in his first eight games and helping the Cardinals to a 7-1-0 record. Armiento was in the top five for league scoring.

In the spring, when he suits up for the senior boys' soccer team, there's little doubt he will continue his dominance as last year he led the league in scoring with eight goals in just four games.

The thrill of winning pales in comparison to what Armiento gets out of competing in three sports.

"I feel the school spirit," the 18-year-old said when he's in action. "There's a proud history here and I'm just happy to be a part of it."

Armiento expects a lot out of himself and his teammates. He gives his all and looks to others to do the same.

"I thrive on winning," the Grade 12 student said. "I'm intense and passionate, but I know I have to keep my emotions in check. I expect the best out of myself to help my teams win...I go out and work hard and never give less. I love winning and I hate losing. There's great athletes at St. Charles...they're all hard working and fun to be around."

Coaches have noticed a big difference in Armiento's attitude and drive this year.

"Marco has finely tuned hand-eye co-ordination and great passion," hockey head coach Rob Zanatta said. "When directed properly, it can drive him to great success. On occasion he can be too passionate and he loses focus. He just wants to win so badly. He knows he has to keep it in check and he's been working on it."

Armiento's emotional adjustments have given a great sense of confidence to his coaches.

"He's more mature this year and when the game is on the line, he can take the puck and be a game breaker for us," Zanatta said. "He's become a leader in the school...the younger kids look up to him."

Football coach Mike Fabiilli also saw the changes and liked the progress, pointing out Armiento's awesome array of talents.

"He was channelling his energy in a right way this year," Fabiilli said. "I'm proud of him. He was more dedicated even with his studies. He matured a lot this year. His athleticism really stands out. He can do anything. He was a threat on offence every time he got the ball."

Armiento also has plenty of gusto and guts to go with his skills. In the second week of the football season, he blew out his shoulder making a tackle. The dislocation was supposed to keep him out of action for at least three weeks, maybe the rest of the season. Armiento returned two weeks later to help his team take on rival St. Benedict.

"I had to play...I felt I could help my team," he said. "It was a bad injury. It popped out during the tackle and then I got hit again on the sidelines and it came out worse. My shoulder was just hanging out...it was rough. I'm fine now."
Thanks to his superior skills, competitive juices and domination of three sports, Armiento gets high praise from the coaches at St. Charles.

"He's one of the best athletes in the city," Zanatta said.

The Cardinals football team fell in the quarter-finals in the playoffs to Lockerby. Armiento was a key presence all game, making several crucial interceptions and long rushes.

Now, Armiento is concentrated on helping the hockey team and, eventually, the soccer team, win city titles.

Despite his tremendous hockey success, clipping along at a frantic 1.88 goals-per-game pace, Armiento is focused on hoisting a city trophy high above his head and celebrating with teammates.

"In hockey, we lost in the finals last year," Armiento said. "This year we want to get back there and win it and go to NOSSA and hopefully OFSAA. I'm happy and grateful for the success in hockey...I have very skilled teammates who get me the puck. If it wasn't me, it would be someone else doing it. In soccer, we lost in the semi finals last year.
We're not looking to repeat that...we want to win that championship too."