Soccer future is so bright Kootenays had better adopt the shades
By Bruce Fuhr
It’s obvious from the number of tourists arriving on Nelson’s main drag the secret is getting out regarding one of the most beautiful places to visit in the world.
The same can be said for youth soccer in the Heritage City as Nelson welcomed the head of the girl’s high performance for the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer, Emma Humphries.
“I think it’s extremely important to the development of the players to see the girls head elite coach,” said Brett Adams, regional head coach of the Whitecaps Kootenay Academy Centre.
“The girls side is booming at this time,” Adams added.
“With (L.V. Rogers) high school winning provincial gold and the (Nelson Youth Soccer) U16 girls rep capturing gold, the U18 girls silver and the U14 girls bronze, it just shows the work that is happening on the girls side.”
And Humphries, as part of her role as Girls Elite REX head coach and Girls Programs director, has noticed the improvement during travels to Nelson over the past two years.
“I have been to Nelson three times in the past two years and have seen tremendous progress every time,” Humphries explains.
“The girls program in Nelson seems to have really taken off.”
Humphries was in Nelson this past week to assist in the Whitecaps Prospect Camps at Lakeside Fields.
The camp auditioned many of the elite players in Nelson Youth Soccer for Whitecaps staff as well as enabling camp participants to train under top flight coaching.
“The progress made in Nelson has been brilliant,” Humphries said.
“There are some really exciting young talented players coming out of the Kootenays.”
“Progressing players into the (BC Senior Premier League) BCSPL (through Thompson/Okanagan Soccer Club) is a massive achievement and shows that the talent pathway is producing players that can compete at the highest level in BC.”
The work of Adams, as regional head coach of the Whitecaps Kootenay Academy Centre and liaison coach with Nelson Youth Soccer, has definitely stepped up the training players have been receiving at the local level.
And this training is paying off not only with teams finding success at the provincial level, but also with individual players growth.
“There are some very talented players for sure . . . if not at this point, then in the future I am sure we will see some players come through,” Humphries said when asked about future Regional EXCEL Centre program candidates coming from Nelson.
“Brett and his team do a great job of progressing the girls and pushing them to compete with the best, which is important for me to see.”
“The likes of Sophie Borhi and Michaela Anderson making TOFC is an important step in trying to make our REX group, so I will be tracking their progress and others that come through the Kootenays over the next couple of years.”
Oh no. Looks like the secret is getting out.
