Women’s soccer players give back as coaches

Steve Johnson is thrilled when he discusses how over a dozen members of the Gee-Gees women's soccer team serve as youth coaches in their hometowns.

"I think it's fantastic," says Johnson, the only head coach in the history of the program. "Not only do they have something to offer as role models, but they've got expertise. They're playing at the highest level available in Canada and they're somebody young players can look to emulate."

Preteen and high school aged girls in Canada are halting their participation in sports at a significantly higher rate than their male counterparts. Girls not feeling welcome and poor perceptions of belonging are among the reasons for this, according to Canadian Women & Sport.

However, this is not the main motivation for some Gee-Gees to start their coaching journey. Many simply enjoy working with younger players and seeing the sport from a different angle.

"For me, it's seeing the girls develop," said Trinity Esprit, who was coaching a competitive team in Toronto. "I was with them for a year before I left for school, and seeing how much confidence they got on the ball and how much they loved playing. It was great being with them every single week."

"I did a bit of volunteer coaching over the summer, and I really liked it," said Sadie Sider-Echenberg, a 2021 OUA All-Star who coaches with Futuro Soccer Academy. "I've worked with kids before, but not in a soccer setting, and I love soccer obviously so it went together nicely."

Many soccer clubs have programs to get their elite players coaching at a young age. That's how Elise Lacoste, a 2020-21 U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian, got her start.

"It was so different from my experience playing at a high level," said Lacoste. "Really emphasizing the fun and making sure they had the best experience possible, without focusing so much on the competitive aspect was a really nice complement to what I was experiencing as an athlete."

Lacoste went a step further and created the Inspire Initiative with A.S. Pierrefonds. The Initiative offers an opportunity for the club's grassroot teams to attend matches of the Pierrefonds women's semi-pro squad.

"The goal was for them to see women playing at a higher level and inspire them to keep playing and try to keep them in the sport," said Lacoste. "Obviously the rate of girls dropping out of sport as teenagers is high, which is really sad."

Canadian soccer has seen a steady uptick in female coaches over the past decade. This wasn't the case when the current Gee-Gees were playing at the grassroots level.

"I don't think I had any female coaches growing up," said Esprit, a member of the 2019 FISU World Championship team. "There wasn't even a lot of female assistant coaches. If you wanted to talk to someone in a way you wouldn't talk to a male coach, I wish maybe we would have had them there for that. But it's great that we're seeing them now." 

"It's vital to the development of female sports to have female coaches," said Lacoste, who previously played with the McGill Martlets. "Representation matters, so being able to see strong female characters in coaches or even referees is so important." 

However, female coaches won't be as rare for the next generation of elite Canadian players. 

In addition to the current players, a number of women's soccer alumnae are also giving back in their communities. Kim Gamble, a member of the 1996 National Championship squad, is the executive director of Ottawa City Soccer Club, while 2018 National Champion Sophie Curtis is a coach with Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club.

Alumnae Kristina Farrant, Julie Gareau, Daniella Vella and Sula Karsli are coaching their own children, something that was rarely seen until recently. Remarkably, at least two former Gee-Gees coached future uOttawa varsity players. Sheila McSwiggan (Forrest) coached Julia Tardioli, Julia Rosenthal and Micha Salhanny while a teacher at St. Mother Teresa High School, while Farrant did the same with Kayla Jones at Nepean High School.

"Women's soccer has just exploded in the 30 or 40 years since I've been coaching," said Johnson. "Not only are they able to give back to their sport and their community, but in a lot of situations they can make a living at the administrative level.

"They've got a good tactical and technical understanding, and they can share that."