By Dan Plouffe
With the first undefeated W-League regular season in club history and the #1-ranked United Soccer League youth boys’ program in North America, the Ottawa Fury enjoyed an unprecedented year of achievement in 2011.
“We did have a really excellent year last year, and hopefully this award will spur us on to do even better next year,” says Fury owner and CEO John Pugh, who collected the Amateur Club of the Year honour at the Ottawa Sports Awards banquet on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at Algonquin College. “It’s been a lot of hard work, and there is more to do – hopefully with a pro club coming down the road.”
With three New England Division-champion boys’ squads and all of its other boys’ youth teams advancing to the league finals tournament, the Fury boys’ program was ranked #1 in North America in the USL Super-Y League. The Fury also sent two girls’ teams to the Super-Y finals, while the W-League women’s team followed up its regular season success with a run that continued that run all the way to the league championship final where they settled for silver.
“The W-League was obviously a big thing, but we just fell at the last hurdle of course. That’s an obvious target for next year,” smiles Pugh, who was joined by W-League coach Dom Oliveri at the event – one of the staff coaches the only identifies as key to their success. “You’re only as good as your coaches, that’s for sure. We have good coaches in the club, and they attract good players. It all feeds on itself.”
Pugh also enjoys watching so many players who dressed for the Fury at one point or another compete for the Canadian women’s national team – seven in total, including current striker Christina Julien, who scored the game-winning goal in Team Canada’s Olympic qualifying tournament opener.
“We’re thrilled with the number of kids that have left the program and gone on to the national team or scholarships in the United States,” Pugh adds. “That’s where we get our kicks.”
This marks the first time the eight-year-old club has been honoured as Amateur Club of the Year by the Ottawa Sports Awards, who Pugh complimented for putting on a “great event” for such a wide range of sports.
“It’s a great honour for the club,” Pugh adds. “And it is for the club, which means it’s an honour for our coaches, our players, our staff and everybody associated with the club.”
The Fury were co-recipients of the Amateur Club of the Year honour – the first tie in the award’s history – along with the Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club.