VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced on Tuesday that Katie Collar has been named head coach of the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite program, in partnership with BC Soccer. Collar will also oversee the Whitecaps FC Pre-Girls Elite program and the Mainland Girls BMO Academy.
“Katie has done a fantastic job at our Calgary academy and REX program,” said Emma Humphries, Whitecaps FC director of women’s football. “She continues to show that she is a strong coach and leader, and I look forward to seeing her now take another step forward to help develop some of the top young talents at our club and for Canada.”
The Whitecaps FC Girls Elite program is one of three Canada Soccer National Development Centres (NDC) alongside Ontario and Quebec, and develops talent in integration with Regional Excel Centre (REX) programs in each province – including Whitecaps FC BMO Academy fully funded and operated programs in Calgary and Edmonton, and partnered programs in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Atlantic Canada.
Collar comes to Vancouver after most recently leading the Whitecaps FC Calgary BMO Academy and REX program. A former NCAA Division I player at Eastern Kentucky, Collar is in the process of completing her Canada Soccer A Licence. She initially joined the club from Calgary Foothills where she held the position of Development Phase girls manager and assistant coach of the club’s Pro-Amateur women’s franchise. She was also the assistant coach of the University of Calgary Dino’s varsity women’s team and previously worked in Nova Scotia’s REX program as an assistant coach. She was recently named Alberta’s Canada Summer Games head coach for 2022.
“I am very excited to join this team and to begin working with this talented group of players,” said Collar. “With the ongoing success of the Canadian women’s national team, the growing number of Canadian women signing professional contracts in the sport, and the developing culture around soccer in Canada, it is a great time to be working in the high-performance pathway. One of the greatest pleasures as a coach is watching an athlete, or group of athletes, being given the opportunity to chase their dreams and achieve their goals. That is what this program is about for me. The Whitecaps FC pathway provides the chance for young athletes to develop, both as players and as people, in a high-performance environment surrounded by like-minded players and staff. It endeavours to prepare them for opportunities to push on to professional and international environments.”
In addition to leading the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite program, Collar will serve as head coach of the club’s League1 BC women’s team. The inaugural season kicks off on Sunday, May 22 at home to Victoria Highlanders at UBC’s Ken Woods Field. Bookmark the full schedule HERE.
“With the addition of the chance to compete in League1 BC, we will experience meaningful games that will stretch and challenge us to commit to the process and continue to grow as a group,” added Collar. “I am humbled to receive the opportunity to work alongside some of the best players and coaches in the country and to push and challenge myself at this level.”
For more information on the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy System, visit whitecapsfc.com/academy.
