The soccer fields in Samuel-Morse Park in Riviere-des-Prairies will soon be named in honour of former CF Montreal assistant coach and player Jason Di Tullio.
He died at the age of 38 after battling an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Di Tullio made a significant impact on the community, especially to those in RDP. Next year, the soccer fields at the park will officially be named after Di Tullio.
“For us as friends and family, it’s to keep his legacy alive and to make sure the youth know who this man was,” said Di Tullio’s friend Rocco Placentino.
The project has been in the works for more than two years and actually began at Di Tullio’s funeral. From one contact to the next, they eventually wrote a letter that was brought to the borough’s mayor.
“After the death of Jason two years ago, we had this request of the CSRDP, who came in the borough council to ask us to honour his memory. And it was important for us, for the borough, to find the best way to do this,” said Caroline Bourgeois, borough mayor for Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles.
Although the exact date for the name change remains to be seen, a plan is in place.
“We don’t have the date now, but we are planning a small area with big signs, with the Jason Di Tullio Soccer Fields,” said Bourgeois. “We would like to have benches, trees, maybe some place that people can just know about him with his biography. It is important for us that people know who he was. And the next generations of soccer players will know about Jason. So we will do that in the next months. And we would like to have this officially next year, maybe with the Club de soccer Rivières-des-prairies during their season.”
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Di Tullio played soccer on the fields of Samuel-Morse Park when he was younger. His father Antonio Di Tullio recalled those days with fondness.
“We used to come here two or three times a week and play soccer on this field, and it brings back a lot of memories,” he said.
Jason Di Tullio. (Submitted by: Vanessa Di Tullio)
“La Grinta,” which means grit and determination in Italian, is a nickname that was given to Jason.
“As a kid, he always played with heart; he gave everything he had on every play, every second. I think all the kids here have a similar way of playing, including my son,” said Di Tullio’s friend Marco Lamolinara.
Throughout his lifetime, Di Tullio made a positive impact on those around him.
“Everyone that he met and that he spoke to, he left an impression on them, and this is why the community all comes together. The CSRDP helped us to push this inauguration of the soccer fields,” said his father.
For Di Tullio’s friends and family, seeing this project unfold has been a true honour, and something they are proud of.
“It’s important for all the kids from RDP here and everywhere else, that a local boy, from RDP, when he was four years old, started playing on these soccer fields, and that’s where he started his dream,” said Jason’s father.
“To me, I’m very honoured for my son, for what he achieved when he was alive, and this at least I can come to this field now and say this is where the past was and where he grew up.”
“When people walk on this field and see his name here, it’s just a huge honour for the community because it’s someone that never left home,” added Placentino.
“So for everybody out there, it’s going to be something that’s going to be around forever, so it’s amazing.
“He was a leader. He was a warrior. He’s been through so much adversity in his life, and even until his final moments, he was a fighter. So, it just represents what he really is. We’re gonna make sure, as family and friends, that his name’s gonna live on for the rest of time, that’s for sure.”
DiTullio’s friends want him to know how much he means to them – still today.
“I want to tell you that your loyalty to the club is a reflection of the love that you left here,” said Lamolinara. “For these kids to know that, despite the ups and downs in the world of soccer, you stayed loyal to one club and proved that you could have gone higher up — it means so much. I’m so proud of everything you did and everything you left behind.”
On Oct. 19, the Jason Di Tullio Foundation will be hosting their first annual “All in Lucky 7 Fundraiser.” The event will help raise funds for brain cancer research. For more information, visit their website.