Ottawa Fury FC will enter the World Cup Break next week on the hunt for a new goalkeeper coach.

With a final match left on the spring NASL schedule, goalie coach David Bellemare announced his resignation Tuesday.

Prior to the Fury entering the NASL, Bellemare had already been active with the club as a coach with the Fury youth academy and women's team. He will bid farewell to all three gigs when his resignation becomes effective June 13.

Bellemare, a class act who is highly respected by the keepers he trains and the other coaches and players, said Tuesday he wasn't jetting off for another job but wanted to take a bit of a break. Pulling triple duty has been a grind, he said.

“(Everyone) is realizing now it's not a one-person job,” he said of the various levels he has worked with.

He also has two kids of his own and leaving the Fury will give him much downtime, at least for a while.

“I'm going to garden,” Bellemare said with a laugh, though he expects to have job offers coming his way as well.

The news caught many off-guard, including Devala Gorrick, Fury FC's top keeper.

“He's part of the team, part of the family, so it's tough,” said Gorrick. “It's like losing a family member.”

Gorrick credits Bellemare for the way his game has progressed the past few months.

“He's helped me grow very rapidly from when I first came here,” he said. “It's been fantastic (working) with him.”

As a member of the Fury staff, Bellemare worked with Canadian National Team goalkeepers Taryn Swiatek, Leisha Alcia, Erin McNulty, Dayle Colpitts, Rachelle Beanlands, Audrey Bernier-Larose, Cynthia Leblanc, Chad Bush and Aidan Aylward. During his tenure with the Fury, over 25 Fury Academy goalkeepers earned scholarships to American (NCAA) and Canadian (CIS and CCAA) Colleges and Universities with several of them moving on to play in the PDL, W-League and enter the National Team Program

chris.hofley@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @chrishofley​