By Dan Plouffe
The third-annual edition of the Parmar Eastern Canadian Showcase was the biggest and best yet, organizers say.
The May event for high school-aged girls featured high-quality players from many participating schools, highlights Joé Fournier, the soccer coach at Louis-Riel high school as well as with Parmar Sports Training.
“The kids know about it, so the good kids come,” Fournier explains. “The coaches know about it, so hopefully every year we’ll get more and more support from the community.”
The Showcase involved players from many different schools and clubs in Ottawa and Gatineau, plus some others from as far as Thunder Bay and Nova Scotia.
The participants went through technical sessions, played small-sided 4 v 4 games, and also took part in classroom sessions where speakers addressed topics such as college recruiting and what it takes to make it to the next level.
“We’re doing it for the kids to get them exposure, but at the same time, we want to give them something,” adds Fournier, who had nine players from his Louis-Riel Rebelles participate.
One of the speakers was Alex Valerio, who shared her story of how hard work and determination allowed her to play for the W-League’s Ottawa Fury, to captain Princeton’s soccer team, and to represent Portugal on their U20 national team.
She had a few main messages for the young players.
“If you want to make it, you don’t have to be the most talented as long as you work hard,” Valerio says. “That was my mentality going through youth soccer. I’m not the tallest or the fastest – I was good at a lot of things, but not the best at any one thing.”
What separated her was working harder than others and not causing any trouble for the coach, she notes, adding that dedication to school is another key to success that helps in life as well as in soccer. Being a good teammate, and person, is also important.
“It doesn’t matter how many minutes you play or goals you score because no one is going to remember that in five years,” maintains the Fury and Parmar coach. “They’re going to remember what impact you had on their life.”
Having graduated from Princeton and now returning to the local ranks, Valerio has seen a change in the way the recruiting is done at the moment compared to when she was looking into the NCAA just seven years ago.
“It’s harder. The recruiting cycle is starting earlier,” she observes. “This type of event is great because it will get people aware of what their options are earlier so that at least they’re thinking about it and they’re not 16 years and saying, ‘Oh, maybe I should try to play in the States.’ By then, it may be too late.”
A similar Parmar boys’ showcase previously took place as well at the Louis-Riel Dome.