The Upper Island Riptide received a huge boost last week by confirming Marine Harvest Canada as the soccer club’s corporate sponsor. The Riptide partnership with Marine Harvest will allow unprecedented player and coach development to continue in the North Island by means of a highly qualified technical team of Shel Brodsgaard and Ken Garraway.
The Upper Island Riptide program competes at the second highest level in B.C. Soccer and is playing in its fifth season in the Vancouver Island Premier League. The program works closely with all Upper Island soccer clubs and attracts players from the Comox Valley to Port Hardy as well as the Sunshine Coast.
"The VIPL Riptide are extremely pleased with the support from Marine Harvest which will allow our organization to develop a match video analysis system supported by an online library for the coaches/players in the organization," said Brodsgaard, Riptide technical director.
"This will be the first of its kind on Vancouver Island and will work towards both educating our coaches/players as well as providing a forum to promote VIPL Riptide graduating players pursuing post-secondary scholarships.”
In addition, the relationship with Marine Harvest will allow the VIPL Riptide to coordinate and promote further soccer experiences in the North Island with community-based promotional camps utilizing players as mentor coaches providing invaluable leadership skills for kids.
Marine Harvest is excited to be part of a soccer program that offers local kids a real opportunity to excel in the sport, and the company looks forward to seeing young players grow up to be great ambassadors for soccer and the North Island communities. Perhaps most importantly, this core funding helps make elite and affordable training available to North Island families regardless of income.
"It would be great to see a local kid play soccer for the Vancouver Whitecaps, or maybe represent our Women's National Team at the next World Cup," said Ian Roberts, director of public affairs at Marine Harvest Canada. "The Riptide soccer program offers such high-quality training and game opportunity, that local kids may be able to achieve these dreams."
The Upper Island Riptide is a regional soccer program that is committed to producing high level players and coaches by following their established guiding principles of “Accessibility, Attainability and Player-focused.” Learn more about the program at RiptideSoccer.ca.
Marine Harvest is the world’s leading salmon aquaculture company, with its Canadian head office located in Campbell River.
– Upper Island Riptide