LYNN — Jack Mancaniello is an international superstar in the making. Mancaniello is a senior goalkeeper at Lynn Classical who was not only selected to play for Aiolikos FC, a professional soccer club, in Greece over the summer, but was given the opportunity to be a part of the team afterward.
“I mean I’m lucky to have the opportunity and I worked hard to take the opportunity and make something of it. I was in Spain last summer for a couple of weeks. Then this summer, I was selected to play with a professional team,” said Mancaniello. “I lived in Greece for about a month and I played in a tournament in Denmark for about a week while I was there.”
Athletes were selected from all over the world to play with the professional team with the added possibility of staying with the team after the tournament. “It’s a group of kids from all over the world Greeks, Cypriots, a couple of Americans, a couple of Europeans, from really all over the place,” said Mancaniello. “We were told before the tournament started that the goal of the whole thing is to bring a group of kids together in Greece and leave a couple of kids there with the professional team.”
Mancaniello had a tough decision to make at the end of his trip about whether or not he was going to stay.
“I performed very well and I was lucky enough to get chosen to be one of those kids. About three or four others as well as myself were chosen. After deliberation between my coach here, my parents obviously, and within myself, because at the end of it, it is my decision and no one else’s choice,” said Mancaniello. “I didn’t say no completely but I did say no momentarily. I’m going to finish my last year of high school and by that time I’ll be 18 and it’ll be a little bit easier to get me out there.”
Nothing is guaranteed but he and Aiolikos FC did come to an agreement that in six or seven months they would reconvene to talk about him joining the team.
“I am well aware that they could tell me in six months: we don’t want you anymore. And if that’s the case then it looks like I made the wrong decision. But for now, they said that I’m still in their plans for the future,” said Mancaniello.
“I’m very happy because it’s kind of like validation that everything I’ve done has paid off. I played multiple sports and I played all over the place. But once I turned 11, I really just focused on soccer. I also stopped playing Lynn Youth and I started playing for a club,” said Mancaniello. “I’ve just learned the value of hard work and really pushing yourself to do your best.”
Mancaniello currently plays for Aiolikos FC USA which is how he got the opportunity to play in Greece.
“Luckily the club I play for is partnered with the professional team over in Greece, which is what helped me get over there,” said Mancaniello. “The highest level of soccer is not here, it’s in Europe. So everybody who wants to play at the highest level wants to be over there. I’m lucky to possibly have that chance but again nothing’s concrete yet.”
Only a few people have received the same opportunity that Mancaniello has. “Nothing is concrete, in six months the team could change their minds. At the moment it’s looking like I’ll play and hopefully, that happens but I can’t say that for sure, because nobody knows if it’s going to happen for sure,” said Mancaniello. “There was a mixed reaction, some of them were really happy and some of them said of course. It depends on the person and how well they know me as a player.”
Leaving home was also one of the factors that made Mancaniello decide to wait. “That was one of the main reasons why I didn’t want to go right away. That’s definitely going to be tough, leaving my family, friends, and girlfriend, that will be tough,” said Mancaniello. “But, I mean it’s something you think about in the back of your head and you know if you’re really serious about what you want to do sometimes you have to make sacrifices like that. Playing professional soccer has been my dream for 10 years now and when the right opportunity comes up, I’m willing to do it. It’s going to be a tough time but I’m willing to do it.”
Maddi Filip can be reached at [email protected].
