Gillian Samuel (Armada WFC) |
Accomplished
Armada ace, Gillian Samuel has had the kind of storied career that
most other footballers can only dream about.
Starting in the Brams United program at the tender age of 7, Samuel's
excellence in the sport eventually landed her an athletic scholarship
with the Penn State Nittany Lions of the NCAA from 1998 to 2002.
It was with the Lions where Samuel lined up with and against some
of the greatest female players in the game including Christie Welsh,
Joanna Lohman, and Christine Sinclair.
Her talent as a defender did not go unnoticed and Samuel was summoned
to participate in the Canadian Women's U20 training camp in 2001,
an honour bestowed upon only 27 other women in the nation.
In 2002, Samuel reached another milestone in her career signing
with the semi-pro Kansas City Mystics of the elite W-League as the
lone Canadian on the roster.
As a key element on Armada WFC, Samuel led the team in scoring in
the Fall campaign notching 7 goals for her squad. But it was her
passion for soccer that earned her the greatest praise from coach
Tony Djukic, "What I value most about Gillian is her passion
and love for the game. The kind of passion that allows her to exit
the pitch with the same degree of a smile, win or lose, is the sort
of attitude and passion that all football players should aspire
to."
Gillian Samuel is certainly a player whose "pursuit" in
the beautiful game has come full circle. Back with Brams United
two decades after she started, Samuel is the Mini Soccer Technical
Director with the girls' club, focused on getting coaches to understand
how important the technical side of the game is at the younger ages.
"As a club, we are focused on our coaches because they
are the ones who are interacting with the players on a regular basis.
If we create good coaches, we will create good players",
says Samuel. Let's up hope there are many young players who choose
to follow in her footsteps.
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