London’s club
London is historically the most successful L1 women’s club, earning 4 of 6 total regular-season titles, 1 League 1 Cup and 1 Playoff win. The region continues to be a hotbed for soccer talent, producing players like Jessie Fleming, Shelina Zadorsky and many more. To say the club has been well run in terms of sporting success would be an understatement. The team is nevertheless in transition this Winter, with the departure of Head Coach Marcoccia and top goalscorer Kovacevic.
New head coach Garrett Peters has the team off to a 3 and 0 start, with 15 goals scored and only 1 conceded. This team is incredibly deep and boasts many talented players such as Benati, Scott, Zavitz, Waite and Abbate. They’ll be looking to end the season with 2/2 titles.
“A club formed on a foundation of London soccer excellence by teams and clubs throughout the region.”
1 on 1 with Garret Peters
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I think we are definitely unique in that we are a championship team who has seen some turnover. So In our own way we have some unique obstacles to get through. However London is a hotbed for women’s soccer talent and we have taken the challenge of identifying it, and starting a new chapter. On the field there likely will only be a few teams to try and play like we do this year. We are challenging our team and hope that by the end of the year we will be a well oiled machine.
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Biggest goal on the field is getting to the playoffs so we have a chance at the title. Off the field we just want to inspire the community and grow our following.
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We have a blend of some very experienced league 1 players and about half the team is 2000 or younger. The strategy was to take the best local players that fit our model, while also considering if we could build with them long term. After that we went outside the province to fill a few holes. Luckily there was a lot of interest and we have a very deep squad.
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The promotion-relegation format is really exciting. There is so much to play for these next couple years to ensure we can get into the top division. In the short term I think you will see a lot of teams fighting for every inch of the field, and in the long term I think you’ll see ownership groups investing more money into their programs to ensure they can compete and secure top talent.
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I think our team plays an exciting brand of football where we are relentless defensively and try to go to goal as often as possible. Luckily we were able to show some of that in our first Match. We refuse to sit back and defend, and want to, as best as possible put on a show by creating a ton of chances on to goal.
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I think the biggest challenge would be exposure and representation. I’m likely not the best to speak on this, but we need more organizations showing women’s soccer on the main networks.
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I’d like to hope we are! The plan for the next couple years is to be one of the best overall women’s programs in Canada. And so if they league emerges, we would hope to be in consideration!
About Garrett
Garrett Peters is the new kid on the coaching scene. He has a great reputation and history of working with girls programs. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica and was raised in Regina, Saskatchewan where he played for the provincial program and ultimately captained the USask Huskies. In University he was a Usports standout and represented Canada at the World University Games in Korea. After graduating, he coached at the Provincial Excel Center and took on Astra Academy’s University Prep Program where he earned his CSA C and B licenses. The Sask connection is already working in London’s favour given their signings Gay and Steinhauer, two standouts for the Huskies.
We wish Garrett and his team the best of luck this season and know we’ll see them up and around the top of the table.
