With the sun on their backs and sand in their toes, Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 newly minted professional soccer team Pacific FC opened 2019 pre-season with a special four-day training camp in Tofino.
From March 7 to 10, the Canadian Premier League (CPL) club played beach soccer on Mackenzie, went for beach runs, and laced up at the Wickaninnish Community School field to kick the ball around with the local kids.
Coming together as a team on B次元官网网址� and off B次元官网网址� the field was the goal.
B次元官网网址淭he energy in Tofino is magical so we thought itB次元官网网址檇 be a great place to start the pre-season,B次元官网网址� said Pacific FC co-owner Rob Friend, adding that the players were not allowed to try surfing due to liability issues.
Visiting different communities about Vancouver Island will be weaved into Pacific FCB次元官网网址檚 busy 28-game regular season that kicks off with a home opener on April 28 against the HFX Wanderers FC of Halifax and ends in mid-October.
READ: (Feb. 22, 2019)
B次元官网网址淭his is a team for the Island,B次元官网网址� touts Friend. B次元官网网址淲hether thatB次元官网网址檚 here in Tofino or Nanaimo, Comox, wherever, we want to represent this Island, not the city, thatB次元官网网址檚 why we are here in Tofino. Most of our players are from B.C. They respect this region and the West Coast region and they want to represent it. ItB次元官网网址檚 important that we really dive into the communities around this Island to make this Island proud and have something to support from a professional sports level.B次元官网网址�
Friend, a former professional international soccer player and member of the National team, said it took about three to four years for the Canadian Premier League to take flight.
B次元官网网址淚 never had the opportunity to play professionally in Canada. I had to leave. So we wanted to create an opportunity for Canadians. We are really the last developed nation to have a professional soccer league. Finally we have started one,B次元官网网址� Friend told the Westerly B次元官网网址.
Comox goalkeeper Nolan Wirth, above, will wear jersey number one for the Island.
B次元官网网址淎ll I can ask for is for the Island to recognize how important and how big this is for the Island and for Canada. We needed a professional league for years and now we are finally getting one. It will only help develop the soccer culture in Canada,B次元官网网址� said Wirth.
READ: (Feb. 26, 2019)
The Tofino training camp was led by Pacific FCB次元官网网址檚 head coach Michael Silberbauer, the clubB次元官网网址檚 director of sports science Randy Celebrini, and assistant coach James Merriman.
Merriman, who grew up in the small community of Cedar near Nanaimo, thinks Pacific FC can make a real positive impact on youth throughout the Island.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 very important to us. ThatB次元官网网址檚 one of the reasons weB次元官网网址檙e up here [in Tofino]. WeB次元官网网址檙e going to continue to get into all the communities throughout the Island. ThatB次元官网网址檚 one thing weB次元官网网址檙e going to make sure we do. The players are going to have a positive impact in different ways,B次元官网网址� said Merriman.
Seven teams will compete in the CPLB次元官网网址檚 inaugural season. Pacific FC will share an expanded Westhills Stadium in Langford with Rugby Canada and the Westshore Rebels junior football team.
B次元官网网址淎 couple of the ownership teams are actually CFL clubs, you got the Hamilton Tiger Cats and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, they actually own a soccer team now. They will be playing out of their stadiums,B次元官网网址� Friend said, adding that all the CPL games will be contested outdoors.
Soccer is a beautiful sport, notes Friend.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the most popular sport in the world. Canada doesnB次元官网网址檛 have a soccer culture like the rest of the world, but weB次元官网网址檙e excited to change that. Anyone can play it. All you need is a ball. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a reason itB次元官网网址檚 the most popular sport in the world and weB次元官网网址檙e excited to bring it here on the Island,B次元官网网址� said Friend.
The CPL rulebook was written to give Canadian players more opportunities. For example, each team roster of 22 has a limit of seven foreign nationals. The League also announced it will be hosting a series of open tryouts in cities across Canada for players over 16.
B次元官网网址淗ey, maybe one day there will be a kid from Tofino playing [professional] soccer,B次元官网网址� Friend said.
READ MORE: (Dec. 11, 2018)
READ MORE: (Dec. 12, 2018)
nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca
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