Women's soccer setting the tone with Goals for Good

The Gee-Gees women's soccer team will be tallying up their goals scored this season, and not just in the standings. A community action plan called Goals for Good will see team members committing to one act of service per goal scored, making connections with a variety of touchpoints within the community. 

The team has a group of community engagement leaders spearheading the project, including goalkeeper Cassidy Joslin. 

"This was inspired by a group of individuals on the team, but everyone is on board," says Joslin, a biomedical science student in her third year at uOttawa. "We have a young team and we want to redefine what our team identity is. This has brought us together as a team, including the rookie class." 

Goal-scoring has traditionally not been an issue for the Garnet and Grey, and as the goals pile up over the course of the season the team is celebrating their new meaning.

"We want to set the tone of what women's soccer means; we care about the community we're in. We're a competitive team with historic success, but we have the ability to be more than that. We can be leaders in how we engage in our community."

Prior to the season, the 2022 Gee-Gees came together to discuss the community organizations they would like to support with the Goals for Good program.

"We had lots of different people bringing the ideas forward that would resonate most with them, whether they had already been involved in something or were interested in starting. Everyone has their own interests and this is a collection of everyone on the team," explains Joslin, who hails from Saskatoon, Sask.

"It's a new way of looking at team bonding and building trust with your teammates. You learn about the person that they are, about their passions and what they want to achieve." 

And as for a goalkeeper's perspective on using goals scored as a thermometer?  "I am so proud of my team and I'm there in a supporting role even if I can't go out and score the goals myself," Joslin says amiably. 

For Joslin and for the Goals for Good program, it's all about the bigger picture.