Whitecapsfanblog

Some of the best times I have ever had in footy have been playing pick-up in the park.   In many ways, this is the game at its purest with no referees, just a ball and some makeshift goalposts.  While it tends to lack the speed and intensity of the competitive game, it more than makes up for it in laughs and pure fun.

While I was a student at U of Toronto I used to play behind University College with an assortment of international students, domestic students and even a professor or two.  It was played Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon during the summer.   We would play even on the hottest days, during inversions when the air quality was poor.

Then there was sunday morning pickup near Nat Bailey stadium, which moved ultimately to John Oliver School.

Now I am at the advanced age of 44 I play with the old guys at Trafalgar Park on Sundays.  These guys have the best organized  pick-up game going, complete with coloured bibs, proper goals and a round-robin tournament.  There are some youngsters there but the average age must be about my age, perhaps older.  There is a guy there who is in his seventies… and he still has a fabulous touch!

Perhaps the best thing about it is we are all friends for the most part, though the competitive edge is still there. Having a laugh is central to the whole project.

Viva Pickup soccer!

Back in 1982 I fulfilled by big dream: to play for the BC Under 18 Select team.  I had been training with the Vancouver Whitecaps youth team for a year or so and many of the Whitecaps youth had played for the Under 16 and Under 18 Select team.  I loved the Adidas track suit with the BC logo on the front and the words “British Columbia” on the back.  I wanted one of those track suits so badly.   For me as a lad, to play for BC was a huge priviledge and to be the best goalkeeper in my age group in the province was a huge badge of pride for me.     We played against some great local teams, Pegasus, Cliff Avenue United, and the Vancouver Whitecaps Reserves, and also foreign teams such as  the Seattle Sounders Reserves, Washington Selects, California Selects, Roma from Italy, and the winner of the Japan High School tournament.  We also played against the Canadian Olympic team.  

We won the West Coast tournament which featured California, Oregon, Washington and BC.  We beat Washington 1-0 in the final, which was good because they had beaten us 0-6 earlier in the spring!  We faltered in the Canada wide tournament and finished fourth after being shocked 4-2 by Alberta in the semis.  Alta went on and beat Quebec in the final and we lost to Ontario 0-2 in the third place game.

The team was coached predominantly by Eric Ross, but also from time to time by Alan Errington, both of whom were great guys and great coaches. 

We travelled throughout the lower mainland and the Okanagan and down into Washington. 

At that time I must have been playing soccer 4 or 5 days a week.  God bless poor Dad who had to drive me all over hell’s half acres.  Dad did get to meet Nobby Stiles, one of England and Manchester United’s greatest soccer heroes, when Nobby coached the Whitecaps reserves for a spell.  This made it all worth it for Dad!

This was the most fun I ever had playing soccer.