The new boss of the McMath Wildcats wants nothing more than to see his team at last make a breakthrough at the provincial championships. He also grasps what girls high school soccer is really all about.
“Having an opportunity to play with your school mates and kids you have grown up with is really important,” said Paul Pedersen. “I think it’s a really cool experience, especially when you go to a (Grade) 8-12 school. Going into the season, I decided we were going to take the best players no matter how old they were and just give them the experience.”
Pedersen has taken over the program after helping out Stephen Burns who is back focussing only on his duties at South Delta Secondary now that his daughter Ali has graduated. The Steveston resident is also an assistant coach at UBC who certainly has his finger on the pulse of youth soccer in Metro Vancouver and beyond.
The Wildcats have been a perennial contender but snake-bitten recently when it comes time for the provincial “AAA” championships. They haven’t dropped a game in regulation time over the last three seasons but have lost penalty shootout tiebreakers that have denied them semi-final berths.
This time, Pedersen has a very young squad with Georgia Booker being the lone Grade 12 in the starting 11, but loads of potential. His whopping 23-player roster features players from a variety of levels — ranging from B.C. Premier to Division One.
Some also thrive in other sports including Martha Melaku (basketball) and Emillie Sherritt (softball). It’s what makes high school soccer unique.
“We were going to have a second team but it just didn’t work out,” he continued. “The key for us is just all getting together and playing some challenging games. As always, this is a good group of kids who love to play football — an attacking style and getting behind people.”
The Wildcats weren’t at full strength in their 1-0 win over a feisty McNair side last week. They should roll through the rest of city play and Kitsilano is expected to be their biggest obstacle in the Vancouver/Richmond playoffs.
“Full marks to McNair. They came out and battled today. We were missing some of our best players but it was good. We are just building on things and gearing up for the playoffs and provincials,” added Pedersen.
Corner kicks…
The Marlins’ line-up features Colette Mofakham, a standout multi-sport athlete who will be continuing her soccer career at the University of Lethbridge next fall.
