What's in a Name?

With the recent news of the women's program joining the CIS in 2012; I had the opportunity to get out to Toronto over the May long weekend and attend the Umbro Showcase event.

To maximum the budget, I decided to take the 'red eye' departing Calgary at 12:40am on Saturday and arrive in TO around 6:45am.  From there, a quick shuttle ride to the hotel to brush my teeth and then I was off to the fields as the matches started at 8am.  This day happened to be the hottest day of the weekend, and   watching soccer from 8am to 8pm can drain you.  After a busy Saturday of watching some first round matches, I headed back to my hotel for some R & R to do it all over again Sunday and Monday.

The weekend was received well.  I went with the purpose of looking at some of the Ontario and surround teams for possible future selection as we transition to CIS starting in 2012.   I was amazed at the number of coaches in attendance; especially from the US.  And here is where I get to the title of this posting - What's in a Name?  Well....branding.  These big school from the US came with a budget and you could tell, they have been to a few of these weekends already.  Some sent their assistant coaches, and you could see they weren't as experienced but still had all the gear.

The parents heads were constantly on a swivel looking for coaches. And when they talked to you, they didn't look you in the eye, rather, they looked straight at your jacket or shirt to see what school you were representing and looked to offer you a profile sheet of their daughter or team roster.

From my perspective, I was able to identify some potential prospects for the class of 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Too often, we just focus on the soccer and when it comes to recruiting or selecting a school - it's much more than that.  

Here are some keys that should MRU be your school of choice, we can offer you:

• a Canadian education degree (don't take this for granted when you start to look for a job)
• lower tuition costs
• a smaller financial burden after graduation (live at home, eat what's in the fridge, work part-time and gain work experience while you study)
• small class sizes at MRU (are you serious about your studies)
• get a job in your field after graduation in the Alberta market
• play 5 years in the CIS as compared to NCAA (4 year maximum)
• and yes, we do have scholarships too.  

ACAC Soccer Player of the Year for (2010-2011)

MRU Women's Soccer is proud to announce that it's leading goal scorer for the 2010-11 season, Gillian Doubleday, was named the ACAC Female Soccer Player of the year.    Gillian played here fourth year of ACAC soccer this year and became the MRU Women's soccer all-time leading scorer for the program.  A great accomplishment.

Congratulations Gillian!

It's official!  2012!

Mount Royal University is the newest member of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association.

The Calgary-based Cougars were granted a probationary membership beginning in September 2011, becoming the conference’s 15th member institution. Pending approval by Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), MRU will begin Canada West competition in men’s and women’s basketball, hockey, soccer and volleyball during the 2012-13 season.

About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year, 1997 to 2010. Comprised of 14 schools, from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada West produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year.

Cougars Booster Club Needs you.

The Cougar Booster Club will be holding their fund-raising casino on June 14 & 15 at Cash Casino. At the two day event we require a total of 36 volunteers. Please forward names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers of those athletes who are available to volunteer.

I look forward to your athletes names and hope that you will also give your time to the Cougar Booster Club.

Contact Kimmo at kkorvela@mtroyal.ca or 403.440.7218 (Office)

Note: This helps MRU Athletics with its annual scholarship funds.  It is very important for the athletic programs.  If you are able to volunteer your time; great for the resume and helping to support your University Athletic programs.

Find out more about the Cougar Booster Club and become a member at:  http://cougarboosterclub.ca/