When we met our soccer team, it was like we had been playing together all along
By Sarah Spisak
The skies were overcast, and threatening rain, but that didn’t stop Jenny Murray, Eileen Mooney, and Coach Amanda Trenchard from being on the soccer field with their fellow Special Olympics athletes and coaches.
The three women are getting as much practice in as they can before heading to Berlin, Germany to compete in the 2023 Special Olympics World Games from June 17 to 25.
This will be the first time Jenny and Eileen will be attending a World Games, and the first time Amanda will be attending as a coach; she has previously attended World Games, but as an official.
It’s my first time as a coach, which is a totally different experience. I’ve been as an official many times . But you don’t get to share the experience the same way. You actually get to be part of the athlete’s success as a coach.
Amanda is the head coach of the first all-female Canadian soccer team to attend a World Games and has worked for many years behind the scenes to make this dream a reality.
“It’s been a lot of canvassing over the years. It took a lot of letter writing and a lot of pushing just to get them to recognize that this is important,” Amanda says. “We probably developed our all-women’s team here in Edmonton about nine or ten years ago and for the longest time we were the only all-female team.
“Any competitions we played in, we played against mixed or all male teams, and the girls always competed at that level. So, when they announced they were going to have an all-women’s team, I was like ‘I want to be the one coaching that team because it’s going to be amazing’,” Amanda says through a proud smile.
Jenny and Eileen have been playing soccer together for the last 6 years and Amanda has coached them the entire time. The women get together to train at least two to three times a week with Jenny training as many as six days a week.
“We’ve worked on running, core, lots of different soccer drills, where to be in certain aspects of the game and different techniques,” Jenny says. “Also zoom workouts with our team.”
The soccer team going to Worlds with Jenny, Eileen and Amanda is made up of women from across the country. This means that the team has only played together a few times when gathering together for training camps earlier in the year. But the distance hasn’t affected the team’s chemistry on the field.
“When we met our soccer team, it was like we had been playing together all along,” Jenny says.
Amanda says Jenny is one of her fittest athletes, while Eileen is the athlete who really sees the field and understands the game the best.
“They both have really worked on their fitness and other parts of the game, and they both support each other to strengthen the changes,” Amanda says.
Both Jenny and Eileen agree that being on an all-female team is an amazing feeling and feel comforted having an all-female team and coach going with them on their journey to Berlin.
Honestly, I’m so honoured to be part of a team that is made up of some amazing female athletes who really know the game of soccer. It’s a bit overwhelming to be going to Worlds, but it’s an experience that we both will never forget.
You can watch the Special Olympics World Games from June 17 to 25 on TSN at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. and cheer on our ten Alberta athletes as they showcase their extraordinary talents on the world stage. Go Team Canada!