Head coach John Herdman admitted he had no idea the firestorm of interest that was created by his Canadian women's soccer team's run to the bronze medal at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
"You're in a bubble when you're competing in a major international event and none of us really knew what was waiting for us when we got back to sa国际传媒," said Herdman, who is on the Island today to conduct a youth clinic in conjunction with the CIS national championships being hosted by UVic at Centennial Stadium.
"It's been fantastic. The emotional impact it had was amazing."
That was probably to be expected in a nation that had not won a medal in a team sport at the Summer Olympics since Victoria players Doug Peden and Art and Chuck Chapman captured the silver medal in men's basketball at Berlin in 1936.
"We were aware of that [lengthy drought] and absolutely made it part of our motivation to see the Canadian flag planted on the pitch at Wembley Stadium," said Herdman.
"It was a watershed moment for the women's game [of soccer in sa国际传媒] and made people sit up and take notice," said Herd-man.
You don't let moments like this go to waste, which is what clinics such as today's in Victoria are all about.
"CSA head office wants to capitalize on this opportunity," said Herdman.
"It's a chance to get to the hearts and minds of young kids to get up and get active and healthy."
And who knows what you may unearth?
"You may find that diamond in the rough. We're waiting for the next Christine Sinclair," said Herd-man, an Englishman who coached the New Zealand women's team from 2006 to 2011 before taking on sa国际传媒.
With sa国际传媒 set to host the 2015 World Cup, these are halcyon days for women's soccer in this country.
But the men's game suffered a major and embarrassing setback last month when the glaring 8-1 loss at Honduras denied sa国际传媒 advancement to the CONCACAF final round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
While Herdman is riding high, Canadian men's head coach Stephen Hart stepped down in the wake of the Honduras debacle.
"Stephen is a fantastic man, a great coach and a top guy," said Herdman.
"Everybody is sad about this at head office. But that is football and it's bigger than a couple of results. It's about process but it's also about reality checks.
You're only as good as the player pool you've got. It's a matter of shifting development structures so we can compete. It's the biggest sport in the world. We have to look at systems that enhance sa国际传媒."
On the women's side, thanks to Herdman, it's all systems go.
