Plans for the launch of the women’s professional Northern Super League next spring is creating a buzz in soccer circles.
In Newmarket, the Newmarket Soccer Club is working hard to further develop the sport locally in hopes of strengthening the sport overall from the grassroots level and up.
“We really believe that a big part of soccer is the culture and culture building and having a senior team can be a source for inspiration,” says Pouya Karami, the club’s competitive co-ordinator and coach of the Newmarket United Women competitive team. He is one of six full-time staff members for the non-profit organization.
Karami, who played professionally in Portugal and Austria and semi-professionally in Canada, believes a strong women’s team can encourage younger players. Making the sport more attractive to girls and increasing local participation, he says, helps to provide a healthy feeder system to create more competitive players as the professional side of the sport develops in Canada.
But he believes the younger generation can benefit from inspiration and a competitive local women’s soccer team can provide that.
The women’s team of 22 members trains once or twice per week and plays in the Ontario Women’s Soccer League against other Central Ontario teams every week from May to September. Frank Stronach Park is the Newmarket team’s home field. Rick Morandini serves as the club's technical advisor and works with Karami as the assistant coach for the competitive women's team.
“It’s the highest-level amateur league in Ontario,” says Karami, adding that 40 players tried out for the Newmarket team. “We’re really trying to be as competitive as we can be.”
“We have a very good group of ladies… even though it’s an amateur level, they’re very committed.”
Captain Sarah Schouten, now 28, joined the team when she was 21 while she was still playing for the Nipissing University team. Her sister, Melanie, two years her junior, also joined while she was still going to school. The two have frequently played together often in mid-field.
Schouten, who works as a teacher in York Region, doesn’t recall a summer that she hasn’t played soccer.
“It’s the sport I consistently played through my whole life,” she says. “It’s just something I really enjoyed.”
Team members range in age from 17 to 34 and includes some who have played at the college level both in Canada and in the United States.
During her time with the team she has seen it evolve, including a rebuilding during the past year with an emphasis on recruiting and making the team more competitive.
Schouten is seeing things now starting to gel beyond the development stage. The team is currently ranked sixth in the league and she believes it has the potential to improve on that.
With the professional women’s league on the horizon, Schouten sees a future of opportunities for younger female players coming through the ranks. Her team, she says, can help with that by serving as role models for competitive play but also as mentors. Some team members also coach younger girls and they’ll often invite those team members to watch the women’s games.
“It’s nice to see the continuation… showing there’s still opportunities for competitive play later on,” she says.
In addition to regular play, the team also participates in league cup knock-out tournaments.
The Newmarket Soccer Club was launched in 1960 and has competitive and recreational programs for all seasons. The goal of the organization, says president Petra Fera, is to offer more pathways to younger members.
In addition to the women’s competitive team, Newmarket now also has a men’s competitive team. That means the younger players can see ongoing opportunities to play competitively as they get older in addition to recreational opportunities.
“With the women’s national team becoming more prominent and more noticeable, it’s inspiring some of the younger women who are in our care who want to continue.… it’s easier for them to think ‘hey, that could be me, I could be the next Christine Sinclair,’ when they see their own people running around in a Newmarket uniform competing at a higher level,” says Fera.
The women’s team, she says, is already seeing success as it is being recognized as being more competitive and qualifying for events such as the Ontario Cup. The community is also stepping up with sponsorships.
“They’re attracting the attention of youth players… and showing these young women and young men that the possibilities are truly endless.”
