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Soccer club scores FIFA world champ Jessica Cunha jessica.cunha@metroland.com
Sports - The West Ottawa Soccer Club recently scored a FIFA Women’s World Cup champion as its new technical director and announced a new club affiliation with Capital United FC. Two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Kristina Kiss was recently named the west soccer club’s technical director after serving as acting technical director and head coach. “Through my years with the club, I myself was fortunate to further develop personally and professionally,” she said. “I have continued to work hard on honing my football skills on and off the pitch, and am unreservedly convinced that I am ready to lead WOSC, as the second largest soccer club in Canada, to the next level.” The WOSC, located at the Thun-
KRISTINA KISS
derbird Sports Centre in Carp, is the largest soccer club in the Ottawa area and the second largest in the country with more than 7,000
players. Kiss has worked with the West Ottawa Soccer Club since it was formed in 2010 – the result of a merger of the former Kanata and Goulbourn clubs, as well as portions of those in West Carleton – and has been a consistent presence in the local soccer community all her life, said CEO Bjorn Osieck. “She’s a local girl, she’s incredibly humble,” he said. “I like to call her
a hometown heroine. She’s deeply rooted in this community.” He added that with her experience on and off the field, many players look up to her. Kiss has played 75 international matches with the Canadian team, pro-soccer in Europe, and has two World Cup matches under her cleats. “The skill combination of her rich playing experience and coaching experience … made her the perfect candidate to be put into this leadership position,” said Osieck. “She has a lot on on-field and off-field responsibilities. It’s an interesting balance for her.” Kiss’ new duties will include the technical leadership of the club and overseeing player curriculum and development, as well as that of the hundreds of coaches with WOSC, Osieck said. On top of that, she will continue as head coach of the Ontario Player Development League under-13 girls
team and the U9 girls team. The plan is to “revolutionize the pathway for player development” said Kiss. In March, the club announced it was partnering with the Ottawa Fury FC and the following month, Capital United FC entered into an affiliation agreement with the WOSC. “Partnering with key groups like the Ottawa Fury FC and Capital United FC, I am convinced we will continue to grow,” said Kiss. Long-term player development is a feature component of training for WOSC, with a focus on skills such as balance, teamwork, co-ordination, running, passing and kicking. “The West Ottawa Soccer Club continues its dramatic transformation, which began at time of our merger,” said club president Brian Mason. “Our club is proud to have been able to secure the home-grown leadership qualities that Kristina has developed over a football lifetime.”
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Soccer clubs announce affiliation Jessica Cunha jessica.cunha@metroland.com
Sports - Two Ottawa soccer clubs have joined forces to enhance player and coaching development for both groups. The West Ottawa Soccer Club and the Capital United Football Club announced their official affiliation to allow for controlled player movement between the two groups. “It’s one community club to another,” said Bjorn Osieck, CEO of the west Ottawa club. “Cap U has been very successful over the life of their club. “They have very successful teams and a coaching staff.” The affiliation will see players eligible for the WOSC 2000 L3 girls team also able to join Cap U’s 2000 U14 girls team, which competes in the Ontario Youth Soccer League. As well, Cap U players also registered for the WOSC’s new Ontario Player Development League U13 boys team. “Being able to connect with Cap U and their rich history of success gives us a boost for what we do,” said Osieck, about are opportunities for exchanges to play at the highest youth level. “That puts us on a different stage.” Both clubs’ technical leaders – which includes recently-appointed Canadian international soccer player Kristina Kiss, and Scottish league champion David Hannah with WOSC, and Traian Mateas and Raz El-Asmar on Cap U’s side – will be forming “an expanded football brain trust” according to both groups to develop best coaching practices. “For years, we had positive relations with WOSC and now the time seemed right to take our collaboration to a new level,” said Cap U president Kumar Saha. “Empowering our technical minds to put the right long term player development framework in place for our players and also pass that knowledge on in a coaching education setting to our up-and-coming coaches will, indeed, be a critical success factor for us.” Osieck added there is still an opportunity to join the WOSC this season. “We’re just very excited about all the programs and the updated leadership that we have,” he said. The WOSC, located at the Thunderbird Sports Centre in Carp, is the largest soccer club in the Ottawa area and the second largest in the country with more than 7,000 players. It was formed in 2010 as the result of a merger of the former Kanata and Goulbourn clubs, as well as portions of those in West Carleton. For more information, visit wosc. com. Cap U, based in the east end of Ottawa, is part of an international soccer family with many of its coaches and members from around the world. The small club was formed in 1999 and provides its members with international exchange opportunities. For more information, visit fccapitalunited.com.