By Ottawa Sports Pages, for OSU Force Academy
Ottawa South United Force Academy product Emily Amano will be part of a historic moment for Canadian soccer as the nation’s first-ever women’s professional soccer team training camp opens today for Ottawa Rapid FC at the RA Centre.
“It’s super exciting that (the Northern Super League’s first season) is coming up really fast,” says Amano. “It honestly feels surreal. Growing up, I never had that dream of playing in Canada, because it just didn’t exist. I imagine that I’ll see a lot of familiar faces at the games, so it’s definitely really exciting, especially to do it in my hometown. I can’t wait.”
Long before soccer became the 24-year-old midfielder/defender’s job, Amano experienced a historic moment for local soccer as a youngster with the OSU Force. Part of the first generation of Ottawa youth soccer teams to capture provincial championships, she and her Force U13 girls won an Ontario Cup title back in 2013.
“It was just super exciting, to go down to Toronto, and to have people from Ottawa South United come with us,” recalls Amano, whose team was accompanied by the club general manager and head coach for the provincial final. “It was like, ‘Oh, this is a big deal,’ but it was still at the age where you didn’t quite think too much about it, or get too stressed.”
In the final against Stoney Creek, Amano scored her team’s lone regulation goal in the 1-1 contest before the Force prevailed in a penalty-kicks shootout, with fellow Rapid FC teammate Mollie Eriksson in goal.
“It was awhile ago, but I think it definitely encouraged me to continue to strive to be the best that I could be, individually and within a team,” reflects Amano, who started playing at OSU around age seven. “It definitely highlighted for me how it’s 100% a team sport. It doesn’t matter how good you are individually, if you’re not a team player and if everyone else around you doesn’t have that same mindset, then you won’t be able to achieve as much as you want to, collectively.”
Amano went on to play for Team Ontario for four years, including the 2017 Canada Summer Games, where she won a silver medal alongside Eriksson and fellow Rapid FC signees Mel Forbes and Liv Scott.
The Ashbury College grad later joined the first National Development Centre cohort in Toronto in 2018, and played part of a season under Rapid FC technical director Kristina Kiss before heading to Colgate University.
During summer when she was back home, Amano continued playing for OSU’s women’s team in League1 Ontario and the PLSQ. She also coached with OSU, sometimes with very young players, and sometimes with older groups, alongside coaches she’d had earlier while rising the ranks.
“It was really cool, being back at George Nelms, back at the Ben Franklin Dome, but kind of on the other side of it,” recounts Amano, who also played volleyball and basketball in high school. “It was like full-circle.”
Amano has revelled in watching Force teams and players soar in recent years, with provincial titles and national opportunities now an annual tradition.
“I think they have a very good balance of teaching you professionalism at a young age – I remember we’d always have to line our bags up, and tuck your shirts in, when we were younger – but also still having fun,” she signals. “They have a very good balance of pushing you to be the best player you can be, but also in a way that allows you to still love the game.
“Because at the end of the day – like, even now, for me – you still play just because you love it. That’s what it boils down to.”
When Amano finished her standout NCAA career at Colgate – where she earned Patriot League all-star and academic honours while scoring six game-winning goals for the Raiders – she knew she wanted to pursue professional soccer opportunities.
“I wasn’t ready to hang up the shoes yet,” highlights the computer science and chemistry double-major. “While I’m still young and able to continue to play at a high level, I want to take advantage of it.
“And at the time, kind of the only option was going abroad or going overseas.
“Outside of soccer, it’s such a good learning experience, just to experience different cultures, be in different environments, just to continue to grow as an individual and a player. In my head, I knew that that’s the kind of path I wanted to go on.”
In her first season of pro soccer, Amano made 22 appearances and scored two goals with Umeå IK in Sweden in 2023, and then she played for IF Grótta in Iceland last season.
“I loved how everyone was all about soccer,” says Amano, who coached young players in Sweden, and also a “walking soccer” program for age 60+. “That was really fun just to see how involved the community was. It really just emphasized how important community is. It got me reflecting on the journey I came through in Ottawa and at Colgate, and how much community played a role in it.
“It was the same in Iceland as well – I learned a lot and the community was amazing. I coached some little nine and 10-year-olds – whose English was very good – and they’d show up to the games, and it was just cool seeing so many people come together. And especially for me, being so far from home, having little kids in the stands calling my name after the game was really, really heartwarming.”
Amano is now eager to live similar experiences with Rapid FC. As she heard news of the NSL’s creation, and Ottawa being a part of it, her initial reaction was simply bewilderment.
“It wasn’t ever something I ever thought about,” explains Amano, who was impressed by how invested Rapid FC staff were in getting to know her as a person during their first discussions. “For me, it’s been a bit of a shift, or creating a new dream almost. It’s something I didn’t have the chance of dreaming about when I was a kid.
“But then I was like, ‘Oh, this is actually a possibility and something I can now dream of and strive for – playing in Canada, and also in my hometown, in front of the community that I grew up in, and where I fell in love with the game.’
“It really is a dream.”
Amano is unsure exactly what her schedule will look like and what will be possible just yet, but she says she would love to get back into coaching at OSU, particularly since she remembers the impact role models had on her growing up.
“Having someone that you could look up to and see that there’s more to achieve and there’s something to strive for – I remember that feeling, so it’s definitely something I want to give kids in Ottawa,” Amano underlines.
Learn more about Ottawa South United Soccer Club at osu.ca.
