This is part of a series about Comox Valley student athletes who are moving onto the next level in their sport.
Liam Creek, a rookie-of-the-year nominee in the Vancouver Island Soccer League, will be playing varsity soccer in the fall at MacEwan University in Edmonton.
The 19-year-old who graduated last year from Vanier Secondary played right back and right wing last season with the Comox Valley United Division 1 men’s team. He earned a partial scholarship to attend the Alberta school, which competes against the likes of UBC and UVic in the Canada West conference of USports.
“I’m really excited,” Creek said.
His road to MacEwan began in Grade 9 when he worked with recruiting consultant Bill Green. Creek spent his Grade 11 year honing his soccer skills at a Danish school — “It was awesome,” he said — then started applying to colleges and universities in Grade 12.
“In my Grade 12 year, I played my youth soccer with the Riptide, and then I made a video of myself. Around January of my Grade 12 year, I sent an email to a bunch of coaches across Canada. Five or six of them got back to me, and said, ‘Yeah, we’re interested.’ But some I couldn’t afford to go out there and see them, which was unfortunate.”
But he attended — and impressed — at a summer identification camp at McEwan.
“They liked me and they wanted me to sign for that season of last year, but I decided to take a year off (to work). I pursued a couple more schools, and then I decided to go back to MacEwan. I like it there. The school is right downtown Edmonton.”
Creek will be joined at MacEwan by Hans Haagerup, a graduate of Highland Secondary who trained with the local men’s first division team but played Div. 3 with a team in Campbell River.