Kamloops United brass judge B.C. Premier League campaigns on development, not wins

“Proud and pleased of what we achieved,” United technical director Darren Sarll said. “We had double figures in the senior female team of our young players going to university to play. We had half a dozen of the men’s team who have now graduated from Grade 12 and have been asked to play for university. We see that as a massive step forward for us in terms of player development.”

The open-age, semi-pro BCPL (formerly League1 BC) is the second-highest level of soccer in the province, a stepping stone for high-performance youth to post-secondary and professional soccer teams and a feeder circuit for the top-tier Canadian Premier League and Northern Super League.

United brass acknowledged prior to the campaign systemic change and youth infusion will likely lead to a heavy dose of defeat in Year 1.

That rang true.

The men posted a record of two wins, three draws and nine losses. Two victories is the least in a single season by a United men’s team in the club’s five-year history.

“I don’t think you can look at the outcome just purely on results,” United men’s player Lucas Rinaldi said. “If you look at bringing younger players through or retaining older players from Kamloops that normally wouldn’t have a chance to play anywhere… from a perspective of Kamloops football, it’s brilliant.”

Added Dos Santos: “The club is moving in the right direction, becoming a proper football club with a pathway where kids can start from the earliest of ages and finish in our semi-pro team.”

On the last weekend of the season, Will Edwards set up the United winner in a 1-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps Academy (7-6-1) and Sullivan Reaney tallied in the 92nd minute in a 1-1 draw with Nanaimo United (5-6-3). Both are 17 and from Kamloops.

“When we added the younger players to the men’s team to complement the experienced players, that worked really well,” Sarll said. “When you look at what we’re trying to achieve and you hold those objectives accountable to the actual evidence we’ve now got, I think it’s been a brilliant season.”

In their only other win of the campaign, the United men dispatched Unity FC (2-10-2) of Surrey 3-2 on June 12 at Hillside Stadium.

Fiona Poole, 16, featured regularly in the women’s lineup this season. Two 15-year-olds – Maleah Baird and Anissa Dos Santos – made their BCPL debuts this past weekend.

Priya Dos Santos, 18, registered the match winner in a 1-0 triumph over Nanaimo United on Saturday at Hillside Stadium.

“I think we had about five or six senior players who made a difference to mentor the young ones,” said Haley Bartram, head coach of the United women. “I’m really happy with the season. We just kept growing and growing. They have to believe they’re good enough. They’re just as good as these other players, which they proved this year.”

The United women had their most successful season in the standings to date, posting a record of 3-9-2. Kamloops had one victory in each of its first four seasons.

Two of Kamloops’ victories came this year against winless Nanaimo (0-10-4). United earned a 1-0 win over hometown Burnaby (3-10-1) on June 27.

Eliminating ugly scorelines – such as the 8-1 thrashing the men suffered last month in Burnaby – is among club objectives.

“Of course,” Sarll said, “because when you can see goals, it’s a byproduct of bad defending or poor use of the ball before it gets turned over. There are lots of those things [to work on], but there’s a lot of change at our club in terms of playing style and what we’re trying to imitate. There’s nothing wrong with trying to imitate what the best do, but it takes a while to develop players in order to execute what the best do.”

Langley United finished atop the men’s table, with a record of 11-1-2. Vancouver Rise FC Academy won the women’s league, posting a mark of 13-1-0.

by Marty Hastings

Kamloops United brass judge B.C. Premier League campaigns on development, not wins

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