He wasn’t used to not scoring goals.
After his debut as a pro soccer player in June, 18-year-old James Cameron of North Vancouver had gone nearly 13 games without putting a ball through the goal posts.
“It was a rare feeling for me,” said Cameron, who had been consistently working toward a career in professional soccer since the age of 14.
Then, on Sept. 9, he broke his dry spell by scoring the game-winning goal for his team, Vancouver FC, at home against Atlético Ottawa.
In the late 90th minute of the match, Cameron saw three of his teammates on the counterattack. The ball went wide to his teammate Shaan Hundal as Cameron was at the halfway line. From the halfway line, Cameron sprinted towards the net. Hundal made a cross to Cameron, landing perfectly to meet Cameron in the six-yard box for a strike to beat the Ottawa goalkeeper.
Cameron erupted with emotion, running across the turf with his arms spread wide in celebration, joined by his ecstatic team. “It was awesome,” he said.
It was a great moment, winning against a tough opponent and keeping his team’s playoff dreams alive, Cameron said. Unfortunately, Vancouver FC’s hopes for a post-season would end shortly after, following a 2-1 loss on Sept. 16 to Cavalry FC, the top-ranked team in the Canadian Premier League.
While Vancouver FC’s season is coming to an end, Cameron’s career in pro soccer is just beginning.
His journey with the sport started at age five, but he was also involved in several sports as a kid, including baseball and hockey. As he became a teenager, Cameron said he knew he had to choose one if he wanted to be good enough to play professionally one day.
“Soccer was always my favourite,” he said. “I was pretty serious from 14 years old.”
Cameron, a product of Blaise Soccer Academy, played for Mountain FC in the BC Soccer Premier League in his youth. He was also set to play soccer for UBC this fall, but his plans changed course at the Vancouver FC open trials in January, where Cameron was one of three players selected from a pool of more than 150 prospects.
When he was told that he made the team, Cameron was a bit surprised.
“Honestly I wasn’t ready at the time,” he said. “I still had a lot of work to do to be ready to play in the pro league.”
“[Head Coach Afshin Ghotbi] took a chance on me … he saw that I was young and have a good head on my shoulders,” Cameron said.
After the trials, Cameron decided to defer his UBC acceptance and started playing soccer full time, which allowed him to get his play up to speed with pro league standards.
“I’m more relaxed, less busy than having to do both school and soccer,” he said. “I can put all my focus and training on being a football player.”
Starting off as a developmental player, which can only play six games a season, Vancouver FC signed Cameron – described by the club as a “young star” – under a standard player contract in the exceptional young talent subcategory, which allows teams to sign three young players without affecting the squad’s salary cap.
Playing as a pro, soccer is a now a whole different experience for Cameron.
“You might show up for a game feeling sore or tired, but then you realize you’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for your team and the people there supporting you,” he said.
Although he’s just kicking off his professional career, Cameron, who has British ancestry, said he dreams of one day playing for the national team in England.
“I want to play in England, that’s the ultimate goal,” he said.
