National women’s goalkeeper joins Foothills FC for a trial
This isn’t the first time Stephanie Labbe has trained and played with the guys.
The Canadian national women’s soccer team goalkeeper grew up playing on hockey and soccer teams with boys, and as a professional she’s spent off-seasons training with men.
On Monday evening, though, Labbe announced she was taking a bold new step by committing to a trial with Calgary’s Foothills FC under-23 team, a semi-pro squad that plays in the PDL, North America’s premier development league.
“I’ve been super stoked about it for the past couple months,” said Labbe, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with the women’s national team.
“The idea has kind of been ruminating in my mind. As soon as my professional season ended last year, I knew getting traded or moved within the league was out of my control … so instead of letting my career go in someone else’s hands, I wanted to create my own destiny.”
The Foothills team is comprised largely of local players who came up through Calgary clubs and play for university teams, although it will be captained this season by Nik Ledgerwood, who has played 50 games for the men’s national team.
In the club’s three short years, it’s emerged as one of the PDL’s most competitive teams and made it all the way to the final in 2016. And while the PDL isn’t on the level of Major League Soccer, it’s proved to be a consistent incubator of talent that’s gone on to play in North American soccer’s top league.
It’s competitive, high-level soccer, and Labbe knows she is preparing for competition that’s bigger and faster than what she’s used to with the women’s national team.
So far in training, though, the 31-year-old has impressed Foothills coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
“(When we first spoke) I said ‘Listen, if you can stop a ball I’ll pick you on ability, not gender,’ ” Wheeldon said. “We’re an openminded and forward-thinking club and she’s an extreme professional. What she’s done in the training environment has shown she should be regarded as a player and gender isn’t really a factor.
“We’ve had trialists come in and out and they haven’t survived because they haven’t been at the level, but with Steph the guys are have given her respect because of the work she’s put in.”
Labbe spent last season with the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League and has admitted it was an at times frustrating year that ultimately ended with her deciding to pursue a new path.
That led her to Calgary, and while there are no guarantees that she’ll wind up playing full time in the PDL, she sounds confident that she can make the adjustments she needs to to compete.
“Technically, I know I’m there,” Labbe said. “It’s adjusting to the speed of play and adjusting to the ball coming that little bit faster and me coming up for a cross and getting hit by someone who is 15 kilos heavier. It’s for sure the physical part of it, but I’m confident in how I’ve adjusted in the first few days and I’m confident that when I’m in this environment day-in and dayout, I’ll adjust.”
So far, both Labbe and Wheeldon say the young men on the Foothills squad have welcomed her into the fold with open arms.
For now, the plan is to have Labbe train with the team and play in a friendly match against Lethbridge University this weekend. After that, the team is scheduled to go play a series of exhibition games against professional clubs’ development teams in England, while Labbe will go to a national women’s team camp in France at the beginning of April.
She’ll rejoin the team after that to train and play another couple games before a decision is made about the rest of the summer.
“It’s not a total shock and it’s not a total change,” Labbe said. “It is something that I’ve put my body through before and challenged myself through before. Now, it’s just whether I can sustain that for an entire year.
“For me, that’s going to be the ultimate test. If I can do that, it’s only going to prepare me for the international stage that much more.”
(When we first spoke) I said ‘Listen, if you can stop a ball I’ll pick you on ability, not gender.’