Nanaimo United season nears completion while summer kids programs continues

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

“We had two of our U16 players, Keana Kirby and Kai Bisaro-De Faria, make their debuts at the pro level. We’ve had other players who have come through the club and who are now in Grade 11 and Grade 12, and they’ve played this year at the BCPL level. We’re finally seeing what our intention was the whole time in this league…there was going to be somewhere for these kids who are excelling at their own level to push on to.”

Year Four

Nanaimo United season nears completion while summer kids programs continues

1h ago

minor injuries

Two teens hit by car along Nanaimo's Departure Bay Road

2h ago

guilty pleas

Man viciously assaulted in downtown Nanaimo drug related attack

9h ago

Fitzgerald is quick to point out the work of men’s coach Kevin Lindo and women’s coach Francisco Souza in building bridges between the youth level and the premier league.

He said this fourth year of BCPL action has seen the best integration from all age levels.

“In the first couple of years as Harbourside, it was more separate. This year, the connection with the kids in the club and the players on the team was phenomenal. We had kids walking around with player cards and getting their jerseys signed.”

Getting to the level of being an elite club will take time, said Fitzgerald, while the immediate goal is building a sustainable program.

“There’s been a lot of clubs who have come and gone from the league already because they weren’t able to sustain their programs. We’re reaching that point now where we’re sustainable, and the off-field stuff is going well. There’s a lot more awareness of the league and the players are putting a lot of time back into the club. When you have a solid foundation like that, you give yourself a chance to push on. Especially with us being a small team in a small geographic area.”

As the premier league season closes, United is preparing to host a large youth tournament.

“We’re hosting the Provincial A Cup in Nanaimo from July 9-12,” said Fitzgerald. “It’s the tier two level of U14 to U18 soccer in BC. We’re going to have 40 teams for that week. Our under-18 girls are in that tournament and they’re going to be our big hope. There will be teams from Victoria, Comox, the Okanagan and the mainland as well.”

The fall is the busiest for soccer programs and registration is just around the corner, but United has several offerings for kids and youth that run through the summer.

Those include Happy Cleats, goalkeeper training, five-a-side soccer and one-on-one training sessions.

Follow us on Facebook. Join Everything Nanaimo on Facebook and stay connected with everything happening on central Vancouver Island.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook