Soccer lovers at Camosun College can now play at school, thanks to the Camosun Student Soccer Club.
The club was created to allow students of all skill levels to play the world’s most popular sport right on campus. So, whether you’re a seasoned player or are just looking for a fun way to stay active, the new club is open to everyone.
The club was founded by three Sport Management students: Sean Leyland, Franco Ramos, and Hiro Kanai. Their vision was to create a soccer community at Camosun that feels hospitable to all students.
“[Some] of the guys from the Sport Management program, we wanted to make a team… a community. There is such a beautiful field but nobody is using it,” says club co-founder Kanai. “International students are so lonely here, they do not have families here like me, so we wanted to make this community like a home where they can make friends and connections, and a lot of people have told us that they have made a lot of friends through this club.”
The club’s drop-in sessions are inclusive, looking to provide a welcoming environment for students interested in soccer.
“Last September is when it kicked off… we started from scratch,” says club head coach Aidan Walt. “We have a competitive team that plays in the men’s league in the Vancouver Island Soccer League [VISL], and we have our recreational program, which currently is just drop-in sessions once a week. [These] sessions are open to anyone of any skill level, just come out, have some fun, enjoy your time, and enjoy playing soccer.”
While the club is thriving, with many people dropping in to sessions, they’re also looking to create a women’s team.
“Our main goal for this year, number one, when it comes to the recreational side of our program, is [to build] a women’s team,” says Walt. “We need a new women’s director, so we need the interest to be driven… and then we can throw in a team into Gorge [United Soccer Club]. We are affiliated on the competitive side with Gorge United Soccer Club here in Victoria and a part of our negotiation with them was that we would be able to also put a women’s team and they said yes.”
Although the club is working toward establishing a women’s team, that doesn’t mean women cannot play currently. In fact, the Camosun Student Soccer Club is committed to welcoming players of all genders.
“Currently, we actually have a woman on our team, her name is Emma [Lamberton]. We insist on inclusiveness; we do not care about gender or anything,” says Walt. “She is only the third woman ever to play in the VISL. We have had a lot of support and the community has come together over the inclusiveness of our program.”
Furthermore, the Camosun Soccer Club has big plans for the near future, particularly when it comes to recreational opportunities like tournaments between students to grow the soccer community at the college.
“We have so many things planned that we want to do,” says Walt. “We want to add a second day to our drop-in [sessions] at Lansdowne campus, and once that gets going, we’re going to start talking about an intramural league come January. UVic has one of the biggest intramural leagues I’ve heard of; they are huge, there are like 14 teams in the league, of just students who come out to play, and we figured, why not Camosun students?”
The club’s competitive team’s home field is Hampton Park and their schedule is available on the club’s Instagram page or the VISL website. The drop-in sessions are on Fridays from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the Pacific Institute for Sport Education at Interurban; the club has a $20 fee for practices per semester.