Top 5 high schools in the 90s for Gitz, Gitoni or Foosball in Mississauga

In Canada, and mainly in Mississauga it’s usually known as “foosball” but often referred to as “gitz”, which is the Italian word “gitoni,” which means foosball or table soccer.

And in the late 80s and early 90s in Mississauga, they were all the hype in every arcade, pool hall and even some mom-and-pop restaurants.

Some high schools in the early 90s had up to 20 “gitz’ tables you could select from in multiple locations and one high school even had them inside the school.

Gitoni was a big part of many teens in the late 80s and early 90s in Mississauga. So we look back and created what we thoughts were the top 5 high schools for Gitoni in Mississauga during the height of arcades late 80’s and early 90s in the Micky’s and Goldtips era in Mississauga.

5. St. Martins

Training Grounds
I know I’m going to feel the wrath for this one, but making the top 5 out of a vast number of schools in Mississauga is impressive. Mostly, their training grounds were known as “Bakers,” in reference to the plaza on the SW corner of Glengarry and Dundas. It was actually in a pizza shop within the plaza which ceased to exist anymore. Other stomping grounds for Martin’s were the batting cage along Burnhamthorpe and ESC (Executive’s Pool Hall).

Style
Martins was 80% fastball. If you beat them by changing up the game, you didn’t expect them to stick around for a redo. They just moved onto the following table thus ranking them a generous 5^th place of the top 5 Gitoni high schools of all time in Mississauga.

4. Loyola

Training Grounds
The students of this small school may have produced pound-for-pound some of the greatest unknown gitz players ever. Being a 2-minute walk away from South Common Mall totally helped as the old school theatres had ample amount of Gitoni tables, all FABI approved.

Style
Both styles were equally played. Unfortunately, a cross between the two styles was eventually adopted, and middle shots were ultimately accepted. This cheesy style has them sitting at 4th place in Mississauga, all time.

3. Britannia

Training Grounds
Going way back, Britannia high school were the pioneers of the game. Almost every move in the book as we know it today probably derived out of this polytechnic institute (ok really, it was more like a halfway house for naughty students in the 80s and 90s). Looking around, where’d they play? How about in their gym? That’s right, instead of going outside to play soccer it was more convenient to have gym class indoors on a gitoni table so the rockers didn’t have to change out of their tightly painted on acid-washed jeans. Oh and please note that their school tables looked as though they were forged in shop class since all of them were made of steel.

Style
Due to the lack of quality tables to play on these veterans were forced to learn the game the hard way, on full metal tables. This wasn’t good for slow ball players with all the squeaks and what not, however, just like a fine dj they all learned a deft touch to the game, fast or slow. Patience for each shot was at a premium having a warped table on their hands, thus slowball was super slow. But they were also the engineers of the trick shot. What is the trick shot you ask? Well if you’ve ever been distracted by someone doing a quick foot shuffle and then scoring, you’ve just been tricked.

2. Father Michael Goetz

Training Grounds
Of course, I have to put my alma mater out there. Gators not only produced some great Gitoni players back in the day, but generations of them. Mickey’s, where I spent most of my days, was arguably the greatest Gitoni training grounds in Mississauga ever. Formally known as Formac V, located along Dundas and Confederation Pkwy was where you went to play gitz after you had gained some experience elsewhere and wanted to hit the main stage. With approximately 5 tables (all being used at once) and oodles of quarters waiting to be fed, Goetz became a hotbed breeding ground for Gitoni players, all thanks to Mickey’s.

Style
Slow ball/passing whatever you want to call it. If you were playing fastball and a Gator beat you and changed up the game, your best bet was just to head over to “Execs” since the game there wouldn’t be changing any time soon. Goaltending was a premium at the school and the word “tight” comes to mind.

1. T.L. Kennedy

Training Grounds
And without further ado…..
Mickey’s, Gold Tips or Silver Tips, you name it, this OG high school centrally located in Gitoniville produced nothing but the best all-round athletes, and that’s not just in gitz. Then you add in all the “Ma and Pa” shops in and around the area (Nappy’s, 2-4-1 Pizza or Chicken Land) and you might have the greatest number of Gitoni tables located within a 5-minute bike ride from one another in the GTA. T.L.K was a school of culture. All these cultures melted together into what used to be considered the downtown core of Mississauga to produce a superior breeding ground for Gitoni all-stars.

Style
I’d say 50/50, fast and slow, but the catch was everyone who played was great in both. They never held a grudge against the style of play chosen, they just played.

In conclusion, unfortunately for T.L. and the other 4 mentioned schools arcades are a thing of the past. I haven’t seen an arcade anywhere in the city other than in a movie theatre, and good luck if they have a FABI in the year 2023.