It may never beat hockey, but the popularity of soccer is growing – and fast – according to the head of a soccer group in the Annapolis Valley.
The success of the women’s team in the Olympics and the men’s team at the World Cup has really put a spotlight on the sport, says Troy Lenihan, president of the Valley United Soccer Club.
But it gets even more exciting for some folks in the valley with a hometown hero on the team: Jacob Shaffelburg, from Port Williams, N.S.
Lenihan says he has seen a huge growth in popularity coming, but this can only make it bigger.
“The men’s national [team] will grow, and I think everything’s going to grow with it. The numbers that we see right now are big,” says Lenihan.
“That’s a good problem to have. That’s a good really good problem to have.”
Canada was beaten out of the World Cup on Saturday when they lost 3-0 to Morocco.
That comes after a major feat for the team, though. When we beat South Africa 1-0 on June 28, Canada advanced to the round of 16 for the first time. Ultimately, that was as far as things would go, but the team had a good run, says Lenihan.
The club hosted a watch party in Port Williams, and children were lining up to throw their names in the draw for a Jacob Shaffelburg jersey.
Hometown star
Lenihan has been president for nine years. He first got involved as a coach about 15 years ago, when his children were five and six years old.
Fast forward a few years, Lenihan says his youngest son was about 13 when he had a pair of cleats signed by Shaffelburg.
“He’s always given back,” says Lenihan.
“Those moments for us, as a club, are huge because kids really see that and they think, ‘Hey, this is possible if I work hard and commit and get myself in the right stream.’ So it really gives people something to look forward to and something to work towards.”
He adds that Shaffelburg will often be part of their winter soccer camps, if he is home over the holidays, and take time to really engage with the children, take pictures and sign autographs. Lenihan says the pro player has been doing that for years.
Playing AAA or just for fun
When Lenihan started working with the league, it did not offer as many opportunities for players who wanted to work on their skills at the highest level, hoping to advance to professional play and follow in the footsteps of Shaffelburg.
But since then, they have improved and upgraded and now offer AAA soccer, which needs to meet certain standards set by Soccer Canada and Soccer Nova Scotia.
And Lenihan says they continue to raise the standards.
“So if you’re signing up, whether you want to play community with your friends and enjoy that experience, or you want to play at a high level to pursue a soccer journey, then we want to be able to offer all those streams as a club.”
