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Melissa Tan ,

August 20, 2014 Email

Melissa Tan

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Although it may have been difficult watching Canada bow out of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (U-20 WWC) this year in the quarter-finals or lose in the finals of 2002, any tinge of disappointment will eventually wear off. We can reminisce about clutch goals, incredible comebacks, a new batch of standout players and much more.



We’ll also come to realize that the U-20s are a stepping stone towards something even greater to be achieved by former players in the years to come.



RedNation caught up with Sura Yekka and Clare Rustad in part 1 of this feature and Erin McLeod in part 2 to discuss their soccer journeys, mentors and aspirations.



Sura Yekka Sura Yekka just competed in her second Women’s World Cup in a calendar year (U-17s and U-20s). In 280-odd days from now, she could be stepping on the pitch for her third consecutive - this time, for the senior squad. (A distinction which may also be achieved by teammate Jessie Fleming).



The last couple years have been a whirlwind for the 17-year-old, who’s starting grade 12 this fall, but it’ll all be worth it in improving her game. “It’ll give me lots of extra tournament experience and [I’ll be] learning to deal with the pressures of playing on home soil,” Yekka told media when Canada’s U-20 WWC roster was announced. “When it comes to next year, hopefully, I can deal with it better and do a lot better.”



When her journey with soccer started at the age of six, Yekka just went along with what her parents put her in. “I remember my dad coming home and saying, ‘Okay, I signed you up for soccer and you’re going to start playing now,’” said the Mississauga native. “My parents told me they put me in it because they wanted to keep me active.”



Fast forward to the present; the very stadium in which her U-20 WWC team opened the tournament, including the heart-stopping 3-2 comeback against Finland, was where her National Team dreams began.



“I remember watching a friendly when I was younger at BMO Field [aka National Soccer Stadium] with Canada against China [in 2010],” Yekka recalled. “It kind of just clicked.



“I was watching the men’s game and I was like, ‘I want to be just like them.’ Then, I realized that for me to be like that, I had to be on the Women’s National Team representing Canada. That’s when my interest started heading in that direction because I wanted to be just like those players.”



For Yekka and many talented young athletes alike, it was an all too familiar scenario of deciding which sport to pursue more heavily. “I could have continued with track,” said the University of Michigan recruit.



“I had a deal with my mom,” a track athlete who represented Uganda at the 1984 Olympics. “I was like, ‘If I make the provincial team, I’ll stick with soccer. But, if I don’t, then I’ll continue with track.’ I ended up making the provincial team and I guess that was the decision. I felt like I could have gone decently far in either sport. It was a difficult decision for me, but I just let fate decide, in a way.”



Yekka impressed coaches at several Women’s National Excel Camps, subsequently making her debut for the Senior Women’s National Team at just 16-years-old in October 2013 in a friendly against Korea Republic.



Balancing her commitments is one of many things that she’s taken away from participating in sports. “Learning to manage a billion things at one time and trying to do the best you can in all of them without crashing [is important],” said the Brampton Brams United fullback.



“Also, [I’ve learned] people skills from all the teams I’ve been with along the way. Especially being with the Senior Team, it’s so different because they’re all adults there. The way they interact with each other helps me to be a bit of a better person and a better teammate. I feel like I’ve grown a lot in the past few months.”



Had it not been for a particular coach, her career in sports could have been very different. “I was really emotional when I was little and I felt really deserted, so I switched club teams and my new coach helped to get my confidence back. If he hadn’t done that for me, I don’t know if I’d be where I am today,” admitted Yekka.



“Back when I didn’t have any confidence, I wasn’t performing as well. But, ever since he helped me get my confidence back, I’ve been playing some of the best soccer I’ve ever played.”



Looking towards the future, Yekka is aiming high. “I’d definitely want to achieve a medal, either at the Olympics or World Cup, or both. That’d be great. And, also to continue growing. I’m usually never satisfied with how I’ve played and I always want to get better.



“How I see myself in the future is: I actually want to achieve instead of just dreaming. I want to get there; I just have to continue working hard.”



Clare Rustad While pursuing a career far removed from soccer, Dr. Clare Rustad always found her way back to the sport in some way.



In the years following what she thought were her last with the CanWNT, the Saltspring Island, BC native went on to earn an undergraduate degree in molecular biology from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in epidemiology from Cambridge University.



Despite a four year hiatus from the National Team, the midfielder/defender was exactly who then head coach Even Pellerud needed. Not long afterwards, she stepped away from her role at the Centre for HIV and AIDS at St. Paul's Hospital to represent Canada at Beijing 2008, their first Olympic appearance, and played every minute until their quarter-final exit. She then started med school at the University of Toronto a few weeks later.



Among Dr. Rustad’s fond soccer memories are of her time with Canada’s iconic 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship (now the U-20 WWC) team. Almost 48,000 packed Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton to watch Canada compete against the United States in the final, setting an attendance record for a FIFA women’s tournament that still stands today.



“It was like Edmonton had won the Stanley Cup,” Dr. Rustad recalled her parents’ description of the tournament during Canada’s U-20 WWC roster announcement last month. “People were hanging out of car windows, they were honking horns, waving flags. It was a fantastic atmosphere.”



Much of her success on and off the pitch can be attributed to lessons learned while playing competitive soccer. “I learned how to work hard,” Dr. Rustad told RedNation in July.



“Soccer taught me how to focus on something and how to work my ass off to get it. It also taught me how to work as a team, especially in 2002: we were really a [tight-knit] team. Almost any job you have, almost any school you go to, you’re going to need to know how to do that. I was definitely well prepared.”



Dr. Rustad also credited her coaches for setting the foundations of what would eventually earn her a scholarship; time with the National Team and clubs, like the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto Lady Lynx; and a number of coaching gigs.



“I’m from a really small island in BC, so I was playing with boys in Victoria and had this Czech coach who was young, but a phenomenal coach. I had camps with him almost every summer and trained as much as I could with him.



“Frank was a huge, huge part of my technical and tactical development as a kid. That set the stage for a lot of stuff for me. He opened up the fact that I actually could go somewhere with soccer. At that time, I was like, ‘This is cool and fun,’ but that really set the stage for me to really train hard and see where it could take me.”



The 31-year-old graduated from med school in 2012 and recently completed her residency in Family Medicine. Dr. Rustad is serving as a member of the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 National Organizing Committee and has worked as an analyst for several CBC broadcasts of youth and senior Women’s World Cups.



“[The] National Organizing Committee meets quarterly and during the tournament it’s a little bit more involved,” Dr. Rustad said of her commitments. “Otherwise, I’m able to maintain my normal day job. After [the 2014 U-20 WWC] is over, I think I’ll do some locums as a GP and get that going.”