John Antulov after winning the national championship (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

COACH OF THE YEAR

B.C. Coach of the Year Antulov helping put Kamloops soccer on the map

Nov 7, 2023 | 8:37 AM

KAMLOOPS — Almost exactly 12 months after winning a national championship on home soil, TRU’s head coach has another award to hang on the mantle piece.

“It means everything. Obviously being from Kamloops, being at home, being here, being on the field — for me that’s kind of what it’s all about. I don’t like being in offices. For me, it’s about being on the turf or being on the grass and doing the thing that I love,” said John Antulov.

Antulov was named B.C. Soccer’s Coach of the Year over the weekend.

Along with the WolfPack, Antulov coaches the Whitecaps Academy and Rivers FC.

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“This is one of the reasons I moved back to Kamloops. Being from here, trying to make an impact on the soccer ecosystem here in Kamloops. Trying to help kids develop to get to those next levels, I really felt like it was a piece that is missing here. I think we have a lot of fantastic athletes here and it was just helping them develop in the game and getting those opportunities,” added Antulov.

The coach hopes the award will help further cement Kamloops as a hotbed of soccer talent.

“There are a lot of really, really good athletes and they don’t always, I feel, get the recognition they deserve. We are starting to put soccer on the map here in Kamloops, and a lot of people are noticing — not just here in British Columbia but back east, back in Europe. And those are the things we hopefully have a lot of good things coming down the pipe in the next few years,” said Antulov.

Since returning to his hometown of Kamloops to head up the WolfPack, the gaffer has had a simple mission.

“We wanted them to see the pyramid of growth, that there is something for them at the end — and that’s not just playing but coaching, administration, refereeing, all those types of things we want to build here and we are trying to build,” said Antulov. “We are getting a lot of buy-in, a lot of people want to be a part of it. And at the end of the day, it is for the kids and it’s for them to see that they have something to move towards and want to stay in the game.”