Academy Centre Players of the Month - January

Whitecaps FC Academy Centres are a network of regional training hubs linked through key staff, curriculum, and standards that provide professional supplemental club training for serious, motivated players. Whitecaps FC currently have a network from coast to coast, including locations in Kamloops, the Kootenays, Manitoba, Northern BC, the Okanagan, Squamish, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island, as well as in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. For more information, visit whitecapsfc.com/academy and select the academy in your region.

Below are the Whitecaps FC Academy Centre Players of the Month for January 2018.

Birth Year:
2007
Hometown:
Springbank
What her coach says:
“Maria has shown huge potential since starting with the program in December. This, coupled with a great focus and work ethic, has seen her build a great base of technical skills which she now has at her disposal. She is never afraid to try these in any situation and as such, along with the guidance of her coaches, she is now figuring out the right moments when to use these. This confidence is what we are looking for in every player that attends the academy. Congratulations on this award and we are excited to see Maria progress and continue to get better.”
Name:
Lucas McCulloch
Birth Year:
2005
Hometown:
Lethbridge
What his coach says:
“Lucas has strived every practice to put the ideas that we spoke about into reality during game play. His focus and attention to detail have seen him significantly improve his decision making capabilities since the start of the program. He has recently been selected to participate in the Provincial Winter Training Program in Alberta and is on course to be selected to represent the province at March’s provincial combine. Congratulations on this award and we look forward to sharing your journey to make the Whitecaps FC academy program in Calgary."

Name: 
Georgia Bourgeois


Birth Year: 
2008
What her coaches say:
 "Georgia is new to our academy this year and following in the footsteps of her older brother and sister – Oliver and Meaghan. She has shown a great work ethic and is always trying to improve.  Georgia has integrated very well into our academy system and is learning more and more every day and is striving to be better with each training session. You never see her without a smile on her face and she is always enjoying her time on and off the field and this rubs off on the other players and the coaches. Our coaching staff enjoys working with her, interacting with her and helping her development in the game."
Name: 
Stefano Fattor


Birth Year: 
2008
What his coaches say:
 "
Stefano has recently joined our academy and has been an excellent addition to our group. We are very happy to see his progression and quality during his short time in our system. Although very young, his work ethic and attitude are fantastic and he works non-stop. He continually has a smile on his face and enjoys coming to practice and learning. He continues to improve and excel in this high pace setting and will develop nicely as a player.  As a coaching staff we are pleased to have him in our academy, see him enjoying his time here, and watching his continued growth as a player."

Name:
Naomi Dube


Birth Year:
2003
Hometown:
 Tillsonburg, Ontario 


What her coaches say:
 "Naomi is a composed central midfielder with excellent vision and passing range. She is a player who impacts the game in the way she plays, always trying to be available for the team to play out of the back and connect through the midfield. She also brings a positive mindset to training and is a pleasure to coach."
Name:
Dante D'Oria 


Birth Year:
2005
Hometown:
 London, Ontario
What his coaches say:
 "Dante joined our club last fall and has made an immediate impact on the 2005 OPDL Boys team. Dante is a technical central midfielder who always brings positive leadership, a competitive edge and maximum effort to training and games. Excellent mindset and a great addition to the program."

Name: 
Abigail Long
Birth Year: 
2001


What her coaches say:
 “Abigail has been improving greatly over the last few months, and this month her performances have showcased the effort she has put into training. Keep it up Abigail!”
Name:
Tyrel Peters


Birth Year: 
2003
What his coaches say:
 “Tyrel is a great role model for all the players in the program, and this month he has been performing at a very high level during training and matches. Great work Tyrel!"

Name:
 Margaret Caffrey
Birth Year:
 2004
What her coaches say:
 "Margaret has been a valuable player in our academy for a couple of years. She manages to combine being a creative player while showing resilience when it is needed. Her positive mentality reflects the way she plays as she always looks to attack opposition defenders with a dribble, or play the positive pass. Keep up the great work Margaret!" 
Name: 
Chase Harrington
Birth Year: 
2007
Hometown: 
Prince George
What his coaches say:
 "Chase is a very exciting member of our academy. He is very brave in possession of the ball, always looking to penetrate with a dribble while at the same time showing maturity to recognize dead ends quickly and pass off the dribble. He always comes full of enthusiasm with a real desire to improve. He has a very bright future!"
Cariboo Academy Centre
Name:
 Reese Jacobsen
Birth Year: 
2004
What her coaches say:
 "Reese has been a brilliant addition to our academy. Her engagement levels during training are fantastic and she is really improving on the tactical side of the game. She is becoming more aware from a positional standpoint, where she could be in and out of possession to be more effective. She is also displaying confidence to attack opposition defender's in 1v1 situations more frequently. Well done Reese!"
Name:
 Gavin Paterson
Birth Year: 
2007
What his coaches say:
 "Gavin has a had a really exciting start to the season. His attitude and commitment when training is exemplary and the coaches have been really impressed with his progress. His alertness and vision is ensuring he is one step ahead of opposition players. He is also a selfless team member, always looking to assist to teammates in a better position to score and works really hard to get the ball back when his team is out of possession."

Name: 
Lukas Scott


Birth Year: 
2005


What his coaches say: 
“Lukas has been a fantastic young player over the last two years! He has just been selected to attend the March Academy Combine. Lukas has demonstrated such good professional habits in his training, always the first to arrive and speak to the coaches, hard working, never backs down from the challenges of training. We are excited to watch Lukas continue to grow and develop as a player this year.”

Name: 
Malia Franco


Birth Year: 
2010
Hometown: Surrey


What her coaches say:
 "Malia is our youngest prospects player. Though she may be small in stature, she makes up for it with bags of dribbling skill. She is confident to twist and turn on the ball and loves running at defenders. These skills come alive in the sessions and game play, where’s she’s constantly finding solutions to get away from defenders. What an exciting player for the future!"
Name: 
Xavier Phu


Birth Year: 
2007
What his coaches say:
 "Xavier comes to us while playing with Langley United. He is a very technical and creative player. He is small, but does well in a very competitive prospects group. He combines vison, hard work, and toughness when needed. He has an outstanding attitude and is a great contributor to the group in all aspects."

• December 2017
• November 2017
• October 2017