West Van Football Club’s soccer-playing youth are celebrating a record-breaking eight teams at this year’s Provincial A Cup, with three of the girls squads taking home the cup.
The girls U16, U17 and U18 Rangers were the big winners, and all entered the tournament as BC Coastal Soccer League Champions.
Despite the club’s medium size, it had the largest number of teams entering the A Cup from across the province.
It’s a great achievement, football director Leo Nash said.
“Top to bottom, from having so many teams going to provincials as far as the A Cup, and not only just sticking up the numbers, but really competing and winning a few titles along the way is a great thing for our club,” he said.
WVFC also took home a provincial B Cup win as well, with the BU18 Spuraways winning that title.
“It goes to show you don't have to be a superpower or a massive club to win titles,” Nash said.
The biggest contributors to this season’s success were the quality of the coaching, and the level of commitment from the players, he said.
“The programs that our coaches put on individually – it really sets the players up for success,” Nash said. “We've got a whole pile of players that are very committed, focused, and really buy into what the coaches are saying. It all really comes down to club culture and the sort of commitment that the players are willing to put on the line to get these results.”
Most of the winning squads were dominant the whole season, and were expected to win. But other WVFC teams also fought hard to place high in their divisions. Other finishes include the BU18 Rangers in second place; the GU15 Rangers and BU16 Rangers taking third place; the BU14 Rangers in fourth; and the BU13 Rangers in fifth.
West Van FC wasn’t the only North Shore club to claim gold at the provincial championships.
The North Van FC Selects won a provincial title in the boys U17 A Cup with a decisive 4-0 win over BDMS United. North Van FC also claimed gold in the boys U14 A Cup, topping Surrey United Soccer Club 2-1 in the provincial final.
Other North Shore teams scoring medals at the A Cup included the North Shore Girls Soccer Club’s Renegades earning silver in the U14 and U16 divisions, and bronze in U13.
At the B level the North Vancouver FC Fury scored silver in the boys U14 division at the Les Sinnott Memorial B Cup. The North Shore Girls Fury also claimed silver at the B Cup level in the U17 division, while the North Shore Girls Reign won bronze in the girls U16 B Cup.
The A Cup finals were held in South Surrey Athletic park June 30 to July 3. The B Cup finals were held at McArthur Park in Kamloops July 7 to 10.
