London Calling

January 17, 2012 - The Canadian women's soccer team is one of eight teams participating in the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament January 19 – 29 at BC Place.

A member of the Canadian women's national soccer team, which hopes to qualify for a berth at the 2012 Olympics, developed her skills and love for the sport at a local park.

Shannon Woeller started playing soccer as a five-year-old at Douglas Park. She's now a central defender on the Canadian women's national soccer team, one of eight teams participating in the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Shannon played at Douglas Park for seven years before moving on to other clubs including the Dunbar Soccer Club Association system.

"Douglas Park was hugely important in my development as a soccer player. I played on the boy's team. There would always be three or four games going on Saturday morning and it had a real community feel."

The 21-year-old athlete, who played on grass and occasionally on gravel when it rained, says the addition of four new state-of-the-art turf fields to the city's play fields' infrastructure will aid in the development of the sport in Vancouver. (The new fields at Jericho and Trillium parks are being used by teams as practice facilities during the tournament.)

"I think all the new turf fields are extremely important as it gives players a chance to play year round even when it rains. I think over the past few years Vancouver has done a good job developing soccer, particularly girl's programs, and if you want to play I think you can find a place. I know for myself I've learned tons … leadership skills, how to be part of a team and communicate with coaches and other players."

In addition to the new turf fields, soccer programming at community centres continues to expand. Douglas Park Community Centre, for instance, offers about a dozen soccer programs for children 3 – 12 years old. Some programs have been moved offsite to a local school to accommodate the sport's popularity.

Shannon, who was a member of the Canadian team that captured a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Mexico last October, says she's extremely excited about the qualifying tournament.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to play in a huge tournament at home in front of fans, friends and family."

Canada's first CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying match is at 7:30 pm on January 19 against Haiti.

For the tournament schedule, visit: http://canadasoccer.com/tourney-game-profile.php?gameId=1968