In my 27 years of coaching, I have had quite a few highlights. Some were related to wins, moment shared with players etc.
Two of these highlights are the two occasions that I got to wear the Maple Leaf and represent Canada at the 2009 (Belgrade, Serbia) and 2011 (Schenzen, China) World University (or FISU) games. These games are not well known or publicized in North America but are considered the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics. They are basically the Olympics for university sport. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude, the games in 2011 had 11,000 athletes and team officials involved in 21 sports. For some of Canada's national sports federations, these games are considered as Olympic standard qualifying event and a competition for athletes attempting to qualify for their sports A national team ( so basically serve as a reserve team competition). Unfortunately the CSA does not recognize these games in their competition structure and the selection of coaches and athletes falls to USport and specifically the USport women's soccer coaches' association. Since Usport ( formerly the CIS) starting soccer teams to the FISU games, on the women's side, the decision has always been to choose players that would represent schools within the CIS and not select Canadian players who might be playing in the NCAA or NIAI. The goal was to give our university league a venue to showcase the quality of play we have. The games themselves are organized and overseen by a local organizing committee in conjunction with FISU (Federation International de Sport Universitaire), but the soccer tournament itself it run by members of FIFA and is played under FIFA interntational tournament regulations. Many of the teams entered in the competition had players that had prior international experience with U17 or U20 teams and even a full few internationals. In some countries, the university structure serves as caliber players. My memories from both of the opportunities are two-fold. Obviously getting to represent my country at a multi-sport event, cross paths with athletes and coaches from different sports and universities, inter-acting with athletes from around the world and having the chance to visit to cities that in all likelihood I wouldn't have visited. The opening ceremonies at the 2011 games is something that I will carry with me for all my life. As a huge fan of the Olympics in general, getting to march in alongside 300 or so Canadians, wearing our colors, in front of 50,000 spectators was surreal. All the years I watched these types of ceremonies on TV could not prepare me for the emotional and excitement that I felt during the entire time. I of course carry memories directly related to the soccer itself. Getting to be a coach to 20 of Canada's best university players, coach at a high level which I will probably never be exposed to again and specifically, to have coached a game vs China, in China, in front of 40,000 fans. There stadium was filled with a constant "buzz" of noise and while this game was one among thousands and I have coached in, the environment made is so unique. I have often shared pictures and stories about my experiences at these games with friends and family and I can only assume that any athlete or coach who has experience the same level of competition might agree with the me that telling people about can't come close to match the thrill of living it in the moment. I have a few blog posts that I put up at the time of the sames and had athletes that were on the team also add their thoughts. I have a few pages on this site with information about the games and pictures that I took. Hopefully you might enjoy sharing a bit in my experience. all the best
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
January 2023
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