Whitecaps FC six-week off-season training camp enters its second week with a couple of familiar faces. Former Vancouver Whitecaps FC players and Canadian internationals Dale Mitchell and Carl Valentine join head coach Teitur Thordarson and his staff for the next three weeks as guest coaches.
Mitchell will primarily work with the strikers, while Valentine will pass on his experience to the midfielders. Both Mitchell and Valentine bring years of experience as players and coaches to their guest roles with Whitecaps FC.
Mitchell, 52, returns to his hometown club following spells as head coach of the Canadian senior and U-20 national teams. The native of Vancouver, BC, was also Whitecaps FC head coach in 2000 and 2001. A prolific striker, Mitchell is Canada's all-time leading international scorer with 19 goals in 55 appearances between 1980 and 1993. He was also part of the Canadian squad that appeared at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
With Whitecaps FC, Mitchell played for the club in the old North American Soccer League (NASL), the old Canadian Soccer League (CSL), and the former United Soccer Leagues First Division (USL-1). He won three-straight CSL championship titles between 1988 and 1990 when the club was then known as Vancouver 86ers. Having made 126 total appearances for Vancouver, Mitchell is sixth on the club's all-time points list with 49 goals and 17 assists for 115 points.
Valentine, 52, returns to Whitecaps FC, where he was a popular player during the NASL, CSL, and USL-1 days. A speedy and skillful player, the native of Manchester, England, was an integral part of the Whitecaps FC side that won the 1979 NASL championship title. The attacker also won four-straight CSL championship titles with the 86ers between 1988 and 1991. Valentine is Vancouver's all-time leader in appearances with 409, while he sits third on the club's career points list with 65 goals and 69 assists for 199 points. Between 1994 and 1999, Valentine served as Whitecaps FC head coach.
Though born in the United Kingdom, Valentine made 31 international appearances for Canada between 1985 and 1993, and was part of the squad that appeared at the 1986 World Cup. Making his international debut in St. John's, Newfoundland, on September 14, 1985, Valentine is renowned for assisting on both goals in the decisive 2-1 win over Honduras that took Canada to Mexico '86.
The ’Caps six-week camp includes morning on-field training sessions at the Whitecaps FC Training Centre at SFU from Monday to Friday, as well as strength and conditioning sessions at Burnaby 8-Rinks for the first four weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The final two weeks will see players and staff travel south to California for the remainder of the camp. Additional details about the camp in California will be available shortly.
