It’s tough to win the championship in any sport.
But a local soccer squad featuring players from White Rock and Surrey has done just that — two years in a row.
Coastal FC U15 boys won the provincial BC Soccer Premier League championship at the end of June, after putting in a solid season of league play, noted Coastal FC technical director Mark McQueen.
Despite some injuries, as the season progressed, the squad continued to work hard, he said.
“They had an upturn in form just at the right moment — heading into cup play,” McQueen said, noting the team beat “arguably the best team in the province” to make it to the final before winning “in reasonably comfortable circumstances” against Fusion in the final.
“They were ecstatic, especially to win the second year in a row,” after their gold medal-wining performance, said McQueen, giving the players credit for overcoming adversity and injuries throughout the season.
“It shows the strength of the group, and that they can still carry on and turn in good performances despite losing some of the key players. So credit to the entire group … it's never based on one or two individuals.”
Players and all the coaching staff, including head coach Tino Sousa, were happy with the achievement, McQueen noted.
“We’re all very proud of them … it's not very often that we have a team that goes into back-to-back cup wins. From a club perspective, it's a fantastic achievement. They've represented their club and community extremely well, and I'm sure they're going to go on and do that again in the PDP championships at the end of August.”
Their championship win qualified the team for the 2025 Canada Soccer Player Development Program (PDP) Championship, which happens Aug. 27-31 in Vaughan, Ont.
The soccer squad will travel to nationals along with Coquitlam Metro Ford, who came first in league play, to compete against the top Canadian provincial teams.
Players can qualify for the PDP championship at ages 15 and 17, McQueen said.
They won’t really know many of the East Coast teams, as they don’t face them regularly in league play, and soccer is already in season for teams in the easternmost provinces, McQueen noted.
“From our point of view, it's just going over there (and) competing as well as we can, and putting on some excellent performances, just as we have done previously … and we'll see where that takes us.”
The competition features both boys and girls from across the country playing for PDP U17 soccer cups.
