Three brothers from Syria at home on the soccer pitch at Widdifield

The new year brought the Jaber family to a new home.

Since the end of January the family from Syria has been living in North Bay and the three oldest sons are fitting in by doing something they learned to do overseas, play soccer.

City Reporter Matthew Sookram spoke with the Jaber boys and their coach Mark Hopper about their experience so far in Canada.

It’s been just about three months since the Jaber family came to North Bay from Syria.

The three older sons Mohammad, Hachim and Anwar are all attending Widdifield Secondary School and they are about to gear up for their first soccer game tomorrow (Tuesday) for the senior boy’s team. City Reporter Matthew Sookram sat down with them and their Head Coach Mark Hopper to talk about “The Beautiful Game.”

Mohamed Jouar who is Widdifield’s school chef and was acting as the boys translator says it was the first game they learned and it’s something everyone plays in Syria.

The Jaber boys knew soccer was played in Canada and were hoping they would get a chance to play here.

Both Mohammed and Hachim said there were some nerves going in to the tryouts, and the youngest Anwar realized the game looked a little different when played by Canadians.

Their Coach Mark Hopper says there’s definitely a learning curve because in Syria the game is more based on individual skill sets, whereas in North America there’s more focus on moving the ball between players.

The boys say they’re learning a lot from Hopper and he’s “a very good coach”.

The NDA soccer season starts tomorrow and the Jaber boys can’t wait to get on the pitch.

Hopper says they’re already being looked after by their teammates and the older players are very protective of the Jaber boys. He says it is still early and it’s going to take some work from all sides as he will have to learn some Arabic, but he says the boys English is coming along very well.

Mohammad, Hachim and Anwar Jaber have been playing soccer since they were young, and now say they are using it as a tool to acclimate themselves to their new home and learn the language.

Meantime, outside of school the boys took in a national pastime, by heading to the rink and watching some hockey, although there was mixed reviews.

Mohammed said he didn’t like how rough the game was, while Hachim had the opposite response. Anwar said he liked the game but he wouldn’t want to play it himself.