VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) announced on Wednesday the addition of two head coaches at the Whitecaps FC Calgary BMO Academy Centre as the club prepares to launch programs for the 2022-2023 season.
The Girls Elite Prospects and the Boys MLS Prospects are funded programs in partnership with Alberta Soccer Association and provide a direct link to Vancouver and the the full-time Whitecaps FC Boys MLS Academy and the Girls Elite Academy, an official Canada Soccer National Development Centre (NDC).
To read more about the programs, visit whitecapsfc.com/news/wfc-albertasoccer.
Tina Cook joins the Calgary BMO Academy Centre as Girls head coach and will lead the Calgary Girls Elite Prospects program. Additionally, she will work in the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy Centres in Southern Alberta. She replaces Katie Collar who moved to Vancouver to lead the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite program and National Development Centre.
“We are really happy to add Tina to our coaching team,” said Emma Humphries, Whitecaps FC director of women's football development. “Tina is an experienced coach, ambitious leader, and really understands talent development across Canada. We are excited to see her drive the game forward in Calgary and carry on the great work Katie started for us last season.”
Cook, who hails from Ontario, was most recently an assistant coach with York University’s women’s varsity soccer team where she won the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship in 2019. She was also an Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) & Female High-Performance Program coach with Vaughan Soccer Club. Cook has international coaching experience, working as an assistant coach with the Guyana U-20 women’s national team at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
Her playing career took her to Graceland University where she was team captain and to Greece where she played in the Greek second division. She holds a Master of Science degree and was recently a professor at the Humber College Faculty of Business focusing on sport management.
To read more about Tina, visit her profile page.
Rory Keys joins the club as Whitecaps FC Boys MLS Prospects head coach, replacing Ewan Fisher who moved to Vancouver to work in the Whitecaps FC MLS Academy.
“We are excited to have someone with Rory’s experience and character leading our boys programs in Calgary,” said Mike Ayyash, Whitecaps FC BMO Academy Centre director. “Ewan Fisher did such a great job in Calgary and his progression to the MLS Academy in Vancouver shows the pathway is not only for players but also for aspiring coaches. Rory is an excellent coach and we look forward to starting a new chapter for the boys programs in Calgary under Rory’s leadership.”
Keys, a Canada Soccer A License and Youth License coach, hails from New Brunswick, where he was most recently a head coach with the Fredericton Reds men’s team in the NB Premier Soccer League and a program manager with the Fredericton District Soccer Association. He also had stints as an assistant coach with the University of New Brunswick and Mount Royal University men’s soccer programs. Keys has experience in Calgary where he held a role as academy director with the Calgary Rangers Soccer Club between 2016 and 2020.
To read more about Rory, visit his profile page.
Full-time programs are launching in October and will run in two phases - October to December, and January to April - allowing players to train and play in league games with their member clubs. The program includes weekly training and competition and access to high level Whitecaps FC club combines, events, and competitions.
For further information about the Alberta Soccer Association, visit the official website, albertasoccer.com, and for information on the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy System, visit whitecapsfc.com/academy.
