What Did John Carollo Bring From Sicily To Brooklyn & Orangetown

John Carollo grew up in a small town in Sicily before immigrating to Brooklyn at the age of 14. There were no organized sports where he lived, a very small town, but all the boys loved to just kick a ball around together.

Upon his arrival in Brooklyn and enrollment in the local High School one year later, he was stunned by the school soccer teams, which he could not join because he had to work after school, but he played in as many games wherever and whenever. However, John could not hide his gift for soccer and was soon noticed by the High School Soccer Coach who tried to draft John for the school team.

When John explained why his after school job prevented his joining the school team, the Coach got John a job in a pizzeria that hired him for after the time John needed for the school team. John was so good that he was elected Captain of the team in both his Junior and Senior years. He led his team to an "All City Championship" and a "Metropolitan Championship".

Of course this led John to a scholarship at St. Francis College and 4 more years of stardom, which included the N.C.A.A. Division One championship and more. John reminds me of another athlete who's parents immigrated from Sicily and who was my boyhood idol - Joe DiMaggio.

After College John started a career in Banking and playing on a private soccer club named the "Brooklyn Italian Club", which won the United States Championship of the National Italian Cub in 1979 under John's leadership.

It all came to an end when John & Ro moved to Blauvelt almost 3 decades ago to open his now very popular restaurant, Del Arte’s. Sure there was Sunday Soccer ball games, but not as exciting as the national games. But his love of soccer never diminished and John started coaching Girls Soccer [ "The Orangetown Strikers" ] for 9 years in the Orangetown Mighty Midgets, which included his three beautiful daughters.

When that ended John & others started an Orangetown travel soccer Team in Clarkstown.

Soccer, like cooking, is in his blood. While there is no more playing, no more coaching, there is world wide TV coverage of the sport and John's favorite team, Juventus from Turin - Italy's most successful club of the 20th century and the most successful Italian team, is tied for sixth in Europe and twelfth in the world with the most official international titles. The club is also the only one in the world to have won all possible official confederation competitions. John always goes for the best.

What everyone admires and loves about John is his ability to love so much, his blessed family and all his friends from every imaginable origin, his adopted County and County, his lifetime passion of cooking food for every one and last, but not least, soccer.