Dwayne De Rosario doesn’t want to talk about soccer, and it’s not just because he’s surrounded by swimming pools.

The Toronto-born footie star was effectively dumped by TFC last week when the club declined to pick up his contract option.

It has left the midfielder in limbo: at 36, TFC’s all-time leading scorer finds himself effectively unemployed.

But on Monday it was his past, not his future, that was animating De Rosario as he stood near the diving boards at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Scarborough for the official launch of the event’s ticket sales.

Asked about the TFC situation, the local boy demurred.

“Not really touching on that today,” he said. “I’m excited for what 2015 has to bring.”

De Rosario is a Scarborough native, and it was the impact these Games could have on his childhood stomping grounds that saw him at his most voluble.

“Having grown up nearby in these areas, down the street . . . who knows, maybe if a facility like this was around in my day, I might be a professional swimmer right now, or a diver,” he told a press conference.

“It was a blessing growing up in Scarborough,” he added later in an interview, “In a challenging environment, because it was through sport that I was able to channel some of those negative energies that I was feeling.

“If it wasn’t for sport, who knows where I would be? I have a lot of friends who weren’t able to live to tell the tale.”

De Rosario said he hoped kids growing up in Scarborough today take the same lessons from sports that helped him rise to the pinnacle of North American soccer.

“I continue to remind them that there is hope no matter the environment you grew up in, with a strong mentality, and a strong mind, and of course facilities and support, anything and everything is possible.”

With files from Star staff and The Canadian Press

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: