Jonathan Law senior Amilio Venditti steps away from his club team to add to his family's soccer legacy

In his first three years of high school, Amilio Venditti always wanted to be around the Jonathan Law boys soccer team, a program that had deep family roots.

Venditti, however, spent those years playing goalie for the Beachside Soccer Club in Norwalk instead, so he couldn't play for the Lawmen.

As a student walking through the school gymnasium, Venditti would look up at the All-State banners bearing his father's and uncle's names. He also watched his older brother play for Law.

So, after years of year-round dedication to the club team from U-13 through U-17, Venditti decided he would add his name to the family's soccer legacy at Law for his senior season.

"Towards the end of my junior year, I started really thinking about what I wanted my senior year to look like," Venditti said. "(The) Beachside (club) gave me a ton of exposure to colleges and I really loved those years and am very grateful for the program. Deciding not to continue was a hard decision, but I knew I only had one chance to play for Law, like my dad, uncle, brother and cousin all did. I wanted to follow in their footsteps."

His uncle, Pierre Venditti, was named the 1994-95 Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year after scoring 37 goals with 18 assists as a senior and was a two-time All-American at Law. His father, Jean-Nicole, was a goalkeeper and joined Pierre on the New Haven Register All-Area team in 1994. Both went on to play in college, including together at the University of Maryland for a time.

"My whole family is a soccer family," Venditti said. "It means a lot being surrounded by that environment, seeing my dad's jerseys. My dad and uncle both have their names on the banner in the gymnasium, and I thought it would be cool to have my name on the All-State banner next to theirs. I want to add my part to the family legacy."

Amilio channeled both his father and his uncle during a game against Sheehan this season. With 25 minutes remaining in a scoreless tie, Law coach Michael Gruber decided to pull Venditti out of net and put him at center forward.

Venditti changed out of his goalkeeper jersey on the sidelines and took to the field. Within five minutes, he scored the go-ahead goal, took off his shirt while celebrating (which earned him a yellow card), went back to the bench to put his goalie jersey back on and proceeded to complete the shutout.

"When we need goals, we try to move him up," Gruber said. "The first time we played Amity, we were down 2-0 and we put him in the field. Within the first five minutes, we scored a goal that he created. Whenever I pull him out of goal, he makes a big impact on the field. We are hoping to get one or two players back from injury, so depending on game situation, we may be able to get him out there. I think he could be a 10-goal scorer in the SCC if he was a striker. He is one of our better field players, too."

In 1994, the Venditti brothers led Law to the CIAC Class L semifinals, the program's deepest run in the state tournament. In 2024, Amilio's older brother Lucca (also a goalie) led the team to the Class L quarterfinals. 

"Amilio would always come to our games," Gruber said. "When he was a freshman, sophomore and junior, he was always asking me if he could be a team manager if he had the time. His practice schedule was kind of hectic, but whenever we had big games, he would try to get out there before and warm up the keepers. He was friends with all the kids, and I think he liked the social aspect of high school soccer that he saw his brother go through."

Now, after deciding to step away from club soccer, Amilio Venditti is making his mark on the Law program. 

This season, he has posted seven shutouts, allowed just 13 goals, and has made 103 saves through 16 games. Law is 5-5-6 as it heads into the CIAC Class M tournament. 

"He is just a really good kid, and it is pretty cool when you look at the family legacy," Gruber said. "Actually, his younger brother is going to be a freshman next year, and he will be a striker, I think. Amilio is on a similar trajectory to his dad and uncle, joining the high school team in the later years (after two years at Westminster). They led the team to one of its best years in program history, so hopefully Amilio can help us make a run in states this year."

Whenever Law takes the field, multiple members of the Venditti family sit in the stands, including Amilio's mother, father and grandparents.

It's a family that continues to cheer on the same program it has for decades. 

"I didn't want to graduate high school wondering what could have happened if I played my senior year," Venditti said. "I would always wonder how far we could have went in the state tournament, could I have earned All-State or All-SCC honors? I also wanted to experience everything that comes with being a senior, including playing with my classmates I have known pretty much my whole life."

While Venditti may add his name to the All-State banner for soccer this year, he will also have that chance on the wrestling mat. 

Venditti will wrestle for the fourth year this winter and will run track in the spring after competing in track as a freshman and a sophomore. Last year as a wrestler, Venditti placed fourth at 165 pounds in the CIAC Class L meet.

"He is a big-time athlete," Gruber said. "He is very vocal, he is a good leader, he is a nice kid who will do anything for you, he is very polite, and the kids look up to him."

This article originally published at Jonathan Law senior Amilio Venditti steps away from his club team to add to his family's soccer legacy.