Has that group of players helped lift the senior national team program?
Probably close to half of the squad are players remaining from that 2002 squad that played the U19 World Cup final. In the 6-7 years since that tournament, the success of that team has been part of the success of the senior program. They had a very early experience playing big games in front of big crowds and being successful. So, it’s no big surprise that there’s a big chunk of that squad– people such as Christine Sinclair, Kara Lang, Erin McLeod, Candace Chapman, Clare Rustad, Brittany Timko, Robyn Gayle–coming through now with the Olympic team. How did you come to coach in the women’s game? It’s one of those simple coincidences. When I finished playing in Switzerland in 1990, I came back to Victoria and played in the old Canadian Soccer League. The coach was an old friend, Bruce Wilson, and he was also was coaching the men’s team at the University of Victoria. He asked if I would be interested in a job coaching the women at UVic. So in 1991 I started there. It was a bit of luck, in
