VANCOUVER, BC
– Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today that Sam Heap has been named associate head coach of the Whitecaps FC BMO Alberta Academy Centres, with Brendan Teeling taking his place as associate head coach of the BMO Kootenay Academy Centres.
Heap will be based out of Lethbridge, Alberta, and head the BMO Lethbridge Academy Centre, while providing support to Alberta head coach Ewan Fisher on other projects and programs. Heap will also lead the delivery of a new technical services agreement with the Lethbridge Soccer Association, where he will act as technical director.
“Sam is a quality coach who has done fantastic work in the Kootenays, notably with our ‘Caps to College program, so we are very pleased to bring his quality to the Lethbridge community,” said Marinos Papageorgopoulos, Whitecaps FC BMO Academy Centres director. “Together, with our partners Lethbridge Soccer, we hope to enhance the great work they have already been doing, creating something special with more opportunities for the players, coaches, and ultimately the community.”
Heap, who holds a Canada Soccer B licence and is in the process of obtaining his A licence, has led the Kootenays as associate head coach for five years. As part of this role, Heap acted as technical director for the Kootenay East Youth Soccer Association (KEYSA). He will conclude his responsibilities in the Kootenays and begin work in Lethbridge on July 15. Local players in Lethbridge will have a chance to work with Heap this summer as he will lead the Whitecaps FC Lethbridge camp from July 29 to August 2 at the Lethbridge Soccer Centre. See more details and registration information
here
.
As he takes over for Heap, Teeling will also take over the technical services role with the KEYSA and lead the BMO Academy Centre program in Cranbrook.
“We are really excited to have Brendan join our club and lead our partnership with KEYSA,” noted Papageorgopoulos. “Brendan brings terrific experience, including recently working with LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer. We see him continuing to build on the great work that Sam has done in Cranbrook and the Kootenays, in particular in growing the ‘Caps to College programming in the Kootenays.”
Teeling holds a UEFA A licence and was most recently the assistant director of the Elite Development League program for LA Galaxy in Orange County, California. Local players will have a chance to work with Teeling as he will lead the camp in Cranbrook from August 26 to 30 at Moir Park. See more camp details and registration information
here
.
For more information on Whitecaps FC camps, visit
whitecapsfc.com/camps
. For more on the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy System, visit
whitecapsfc.com/academy
.
