by Lauren Thomas
It’s the end of what has felt like an era for the Laurentian Voyageurs Women’s Soccer team. Yet, it’s a wonderful start of another.
Brian Ashton, just the second Women’s Soccer coach in Laurentian History, took the place of Rob Gallo who previously coached for all 20 years that the team has been in existence.
So far, Ashton has led the team to a 2-5-3 record, with four games remaining in the schedule.
Ashton came to Laurentian with plenty of expertise under his belt, having played on Hamilton’s provincial soccer team, as well as Canada’s national soccer team.
The National Team took him to the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta Georgia, as well as to play for the Toronto Lynx Soccer Club at the USL – A- League for six years until the age of 26.
A Sudbury native, Ashton returned home after retiring from professional soccer to become the head coach of the Ontario Soccer Association. Following that, in 2014 he opened up his own Northern Soccer Academy to provide a place for local talent to develop.
He said that he hopes to adapt the academy’s mottos into and through Laurentian, and eventually have those local younger players come play for Laurentian.
The season started out rocky at first, due to the timing of the coach switch. However, to make transitions easier on his athletes, Ashton kept all the other coaches and staff that Gallo previously had. After a few losses and ties during their pre-season games, the first win on September 22, a 3-1 victory over Nipissing, has boosted the confidence and spirit of the entire team.
Ashton said the difficulty, as a coach, is how to make the decision on who is going to play each game.
However, the he says the hard work and careful planning of being a coach does pay off.
Ashton paid a special acknowledgement to Julia Pulente, a fourth–year student who scored one of the goals that helped her team reach their first win. Pulente, the only player from Northern Ontario, had spent her first years on the team hardly spending any time on the field, yet this year she proved herself an important part of the team.
Ashton said getting the University and the soccer team more involved with each other is his goal for next year or two. SPAD (Sports Administration) is one of the unique and popular programs offered here at Laurentian, and he hopes he can get upper-year students to help out with different jobs or tasks revolving around the team and build a better relationship with that particular department.
There are athletes, and there are students eagerly waiting for an opportunity to work with athletes, and Ashton hopes to take advantage of that. It also eases Ashton’s load himself since he is undergoing a part-time degree in Developmental Social Work at Cambrian College.
Ashton also said he hopes that in 4 to 5 years, they will have a championship team. For now, the goal is to win their provincial games and make a name for themselves.
“I also have to find the balance between keeping [the athletes] happy and having success,” Ashton said. “It’s my responsibility to find out each player’s personality.”
For him, the most rewarding part about being a coach is the opportunity to influence people’s lives.
“It’s not about winning or losing, it’s just making sure that they’re enjoying themselves. These girls are here for school.”