Spring sports received the double whammy and were the hardest hit in high school by the pandemic with both the 2020 and 2021 seasons lost. The Class of 2023 is the first to get in full Grade 11-12 careers in spring sports since the Class of 2019. One thing is certain — nobody will ever take things like that for granted again.
“There is a feeling of a return to normalcy,” said Jackie Cunningham, commissioner of Lower Island girls’ high school soccer.
The current class is making the most of it. The second post-pandemic Island girls’ high school soccer season is underway and will help fuel the University of Victoria program for the next couple of sa国际传媒 West seasons in U Sports.
Blue-chippers in the Class of 2023 headed to the Vikes are centre-back Sophie Olcen and striker Brianne McLeish from the St. Michaels University School Blue Jags, striker Abby McDonald from the Reynolds Roadrunners and fullback Adriana Hilton from the Stelly’s Stingers.
“This is a very good class,” said UVic head coach Tracy David.
Grade 11 players drawing considerable U Sports interest for 2024 include Lucy Haigh of Reynolds.
“The Island produces a lot of good soccer players. It produces a lot of good athletes, period,” said David, a former Canadian national team player.
Although top players now concentrate more on their elite-club sa国际传媒 Soccer League Premier League teams, such as the Island Wave, high school soccer still represents an important part of their young careers since most of the best players are aspiring to continue playing in an academic setting in U Sports or the U.S. NCAA. It did for the likes of Olympic gold-medallist and Canadian national-team captain Christine Sinclair at Burnaby South Secondary en route to the NCAA at the University of Portland and Olympic bronze-medallist Emily Zurrer at Cowichan Secondary en route to the NCAA Big Ten University of Illinois Fighting Illini.
“High school is great experience for the university level because it teaches you how to manage soccer, school classes and grades,” said David.
“You need the grades to play in university soccer.”
These high school players are learning how to handle both classrooms and turf pitches.
“It’s a valuable tool and there’s a lot of pride in representing your school,” said Lower Island commissioner Cunningham, also coach of SMUS.
“So many great players have come out of sa国际传媒 high schools such as Christine [Sinclair]. It also gives leadership opportunities for players [who may be lower down the roster on their Premier League club teams such as the Wave]. High school sports is such a positive experience.”
As part of the process, 16 teams from the Island, the rest of sa国际传媒 and Alberta will gather Thursday and Friday for the 19th annual UVic Team Sales Spring High School Girls’ Soccer Tournament. Games go all day on the UVic turf pitches with the final at 2 p.m. Friday at Centennial Stadium.
The strongest teams among the 21 on the Lower Island this season look to be undefeated Reynolds (4-0) and SMUS (3-0 after a 5-0 win over Royal Bay in Colwood on Tuesday), and Stelly’s (2-1) and Oak Bay (3-1).
Reynolds will be looking to match the sa国际传媒 Triple-A championship won by the Roadrunners boys’ soccer team in the fall.
The Carihi Tyees of Campbell River have been the recent dominant North Island girls’ high school soccer team, with five consecutive trips to provincials, and the Mark Isfeld Ice of Courtenay are also a contender this season. The league seasons began last month and run through May 2.
“It is going to be competitive right to the end,” said Cunningham.
The Lower Island Ryan Cup quarter-finals are May 4, semifinals May 9 and final May 11. The Island Single-A championship tournament is at St. Margaret’s School on May 8-9, the Island Double-A championship at Mark Isfeld in Courtenay from May 15-16 and Island Triple-A championship at Belmont Secondary from May 15-16. The sa国际传媒 championships are June 1-3 at Kelowna for Triple-A, at UVic for Double-A and at a site to be determined in Single-A.
