October 2, 2002 Sports fithlete of the Week The Apprenticeship of Matthew Ormerod Neill Jeffrey Spartan Deportment In the first week of the season in men’s soccer, Matthew Ormerod scored two goals for the Douglas College Royals in a win over Okanagan University College and was named BCCAA Athlete of the Week (September 10). Surprised by the honour, Matthew claims that other players on the soccer team probably played better than he did, but he showed up on the score- sheet. Nothing false about his mod- esty; it’s as natural as the likeable ath- lete’s honesty. A Second Year student in the Sport Science Program at DC, this is Matthew’s third season with the Royals. He considers this year’s team as the most talented of the three teams he has played for at DC. He plays a posi- tion between striker and midfielder, a role perfectly suited for his playmak- ing and offensive skills, enabling him to play off the strikers and generate scoring chances. “It gives me a little more freedom. And we attack lots any- way. We really like to attack.” © page 24 Matthew Ormerod Matthew Ormerod played organized soccer at age five. His father continued to train him until Matthew was ten, then his Dad arranged for him to receive some professional coaching from Ted McDougall, a former Manchester United player. McDougall’s connections with soccer in England led to an opportunity for fourteen-year old Matthew to try out with Manchester City, to try to break into their development system. In the UK, selected schoolboys can serve a soccer apprenticeship and learn their trade with a particular team, working their way up to become professional soccer journeymen. “It’s exactly like becoming a tradesman,” Matthew says. “You become a soccer player and you do your job.” McDougall’s contact at Manchester, Coach Alan Ball, is still remembered around Vancouver as one of the legendary Whitecaps, from the days of the North American Soccer League (NASL). Matthew admits it can be intimidat- ing for a Canadian to try out for teams in England and Ireland, given Canada’s nonexistence in the soccer world. Then he grins mischievously, recalling a scene he made at one try- out. He strode boldly onto the field, “a Canadian kid, and of course I showed up in red boots, and they’re all saying, oooh—Canadian in red boots!” As a player, he made a good impres- sion but did not catch on with Manchester. He came back to BC, and finished his secondary schooling in North Delta. From fourteen to eight- een, he played for Delta teams that usually placed second, just as the Douglas College Royals finished sec- ond last year. Some players from those Delta teams are now Matthew's Royal teammates. Stedman Espinoza goes back even further with Matthew. They were next-door neighbours when they were five. “A very good player,” Matthew says, noticeably more com- fortable praising other players than appraising his own abilities. As a group, the Royals’ long-term team- mates are tired of finishing second. This year, they want to win the BCCAA soccer championship, and lose the bitter taste of those second- place finishes. How sweet that would be—for players who have come this far together, to win before they graduate and go their separate ways. And it would be even sweeter for Matthew Ormerod, to able to share that win with the Royals’ head coach, who just happens to be Matthew's very first coach — his father, Joe Ormerod. Matthew sees strategy as his father’s strength as a coach. “If there’s one thing he does the best, better than any of the guys I’ve played for, it’s tactics. He understands the game...and he gets points across well.” Coach Ormerod was a goalkeeper in his playing career, and as with goalies in hockey, seems to have been a real student of the game, with a keen sense of its intricacies. But when asked about his father’s career as a player, Matthew says, “he never talks about it.” When he was eighteen, Matthew gave professional soccer another try, this time in Ireland. He was asked to play for that team, “but the money wasn't really good enough to give up the other press an education,” he says. He tried out for another team, in England, but “they said they weren't going to offer me a contract at that time. So I came back to school.” And the Douglas College Royals are the beneficiaries of that move. Asked about leadership, he says, “I think different teams need different (kinds of) leaders. This squad has a really interesting mix of old guys and older guys, and young guys right out of high school. With this squad, a good leader has to be a little bit stern- er than usually you would be...because this is a really fun group.” It’s not that they lack discipline, but “when they're having a good time, they really have a good time.” Fortunately, there are older guys on the team who can settle things down, and make sure everyone is focused. Matthew cites Kristopher Peterson and Michael Frampton as steadying influences on the team, enthusing about Peterson, calling him “strong, a great leader. He leads by example most of the time,” and has a certain look. “When he gives you, that look, you just say, “Okay, Kris!” Matthew rates Peterson highly, the best centreback he has ever played with in Canada. Soccer obviously dominates Matthew’s life. Throughout the soccer season, the team practice, travels and plays at colleges from Kamloops to Kelowna and Nanaimo, leaving little time for studying. Still, school is a pri- ority with Matthew. His girlfriend, Laura, helps get him away from the game. When he moves on from Douglas College, he will probably transfer to UBC, and eventually go into teaching, but playing professional soccer is still his goal. He knows that in Britain, “as a twenty-year-old Canadian it’s difficult to even get a look,” but he can still give pro soccer his best shot, either in the States, or in Canada. For the time being, however, he has a journeyman job to do with the Douglas College Royals. Watch the master at work. Catch the next home games, on October 12 and 13 (Sat/Sun), and October 19 and 20 (Sat/Sun), at Town Centre in Coquitlam, near the David Lam Campus. All games begin at 2p.m.