Janice Dodd of Virgil is the mother of athletic children, a commitment that brings significant time and financial demands.
She is seeking sponsors for her 12-year-old son Christian’s elite Niagara Football Club under-13 soccer team, which also includes a player from Queenston. She has already secured two local sponsors — Fine Estates and TASC Tulip Farms — each contributing $500, but hopes to find more support.
“There’s a significant cost,” Dodd said.
Christian is a defender who made the Ontario Player Development League, which starts in spring 2026. The league, which runs from under-13 to under-17, bills itself as the province’s highest level of competitive youth soccer. Teams play 20 games across Ontario each summer.
“It’s a very competitive program and he worked really hard the last couple years to get to it,” Dodd said.
Soccer has been a major part of Christian’s life for quite a while now. Dodd said he first developed an interest at about seven, when he started kicking around the family’s orange soccer ball and “found a passion” for the sport.
Just as that passion emerged, his health took a serious turn.
In the summer of 2022, when he was in Grade 4, Christian experienced excruciating pain, vomiting and difficulty sleeping. His parents took him to the emergency room, where they waited seven hours before being sent home.
“I could hardly walk,” Christian said.
Dodd later learned an X-ray showed he was septic — “something really, really horribly wrong,” she said.
When St. Catharines Hospital couldn’t operate, he was transferred to McMaster Children’s Hospital, where surgeons performed two procedures to stabilize him.
“It was a near-death scenario,” Dodd said. “He was fighting for his life and he was very resilient.”
Christian spent 20 days in the hospital and then six months recovering at home. He said the experience gave him a new appreciation for life and for soccer.
“When I have that I was like ‘Wow, that was like, I almost just died, I’d better really appreciate my life that I have here,’” he said. “I gave it my all.”
He returned to organized soccer in 2023, joining a summer house league in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Dodd fondly remembers him wearing a green jersey. She said he excelled and later joined the Niagara Falls Soccer Club Titans for his under-11 and under-12 seasons.
“The jump was surprising,” Christian said. “Everyone else was so well at soccer.”
He credits his coach as a mentor who helped him reach a level where he felt he belonged in competitive play. That support ultimately led him to where he is now.
But Dodd said the cost of competitive soccer is a challenge for many families.
“For his level, it’s close to $4,000,” she said, noting another $500 is needed for pre-season tournaments. Altogether, she estimates $5,000 to $6,000 per child.
With multiple children in sports, the costs add up. Christian’s 10-year-old sister, Trinity, also plays competitive soccer and competes in cross-country and track and field in the Thorold Elite Track Club. Her fees are lower for now but could rise as she advances, Dodd said. The youngest child, James, is three and a half.
Dodd said there is already enthusiasm from supporters. Fine Estates wanted to donate more than its $500 silver-level contribution, but two parents had already purchased the team’s two available $1,000 gold sponsorships.
Support like this, she said, helps children access activities that build life skills.
“The system we have now is based on how much exposure the kids can get into,” she said, adding that this includes money, time and capacity. “We hope this will offset the expenses.”
Sponsorship inquiries can be directed to the team’s coach, Shannon Danku, at coachshannondanku@outlook.com.
daniel@niagaranow.com
