Pioneer of the women’s game spreads the gospel
Carrie Serwetnyk is preaching the importance of participation on the eve of the CONCACAF tournament in Vancouver
Although it is mid- morning on a sunny winter day, it looks like a dusky auburn- coloured shade has settled over the aging school gym. The gathered student body would form the perfect backdrop for a poster on multiculturalism. Many come from humble homes where parents earn a living by the sweat of their brow.
The inner- city world of Queen Alexandra elementary is far from the world of Haiti, yet there is an image presented by Carrie Serwetnyk, 46, a pioneer of women’s soccer in Canada, that seems to resonate with the fidgeting patch of students.
Somewhere, maybe on a bit of grass, maybe on a dirt playing field, a group of women practice and play soccer in that impoverished Caribbean country that was struck by a devastating earthquake two years ago this week.
And that same group of women is now in Vancouver participating in the CONCACAF women’s Olympic qualifying tournament starting today and extending to Jan. 29.
That is quite a scenario for your average 10- year- old to comprehend but with the zeal of a missionary, Serwetnyk explains that the top soccer players in North America, Central America and the Caribbean have come to their city to play their hearts out. Out of the heap, two teams will qualify for the Olympics in London this summer.
There are reasons Serwetnyk is fervent about spreading the gospel of soccer, especially as it pertains to women. She was on the ground floor when women took to the sport in Canada. It has been an uphill battle for recognition ever since.
Again, drawing on an image that perfectly suits a gaggle of schoolchildren, she poses the question: If a UFO landed on Earth and a bunch of aliens got out, would they find any clues that on this Earth lie amazing female soccer athletes like Canada’s reigning female soccer star, Christine Sinclair, who has scored over 120 goals for Canada? She thinks not. Serwetnyk has her own personal story to illustrate this mindset. When she became the first female inductee to Canada’s Soccer Hall of Fame, she was asked why a girl would want to play soccer. “I had to think about it for a moment until I finally responded. It’s almost like you are asking why would we like Italian food or Mexican food or pizza or chocolate cake. It’s almost as though we are missing a chromosome in our body that would not appreciate the spicy zest of running around a field and high- fiving each other and scoring goals and feeling good in our bodies.”
This tournament has the potential to put women’s soccer on the map. It involves puzzling acronyms like CONCACAF and FIFA which are explained to students by Serwetnyk, who is being funded by the Canadian Soccer Association to visit 59 schools in the Lower Mainland.
Soccer, she says, is much more than a bunch of people kicking a ball around. “We call it the biggest hope. It changes the world. It creates friendships and changes minds. Players find spirit between the borders of other countries. They find change.”
The students are revved up now. It helps, too, that Serwetnyk pumps them with little quizzes, little prizes and little demonstrations on how to play the game.
Then when the presentation is over, four painfully shy girls squint into the sun as they try to explain what the presentation in the gym meant to them and how they view girls in sports.
As is often the way of young girls, their answers are tentative. It doesn’t really matter. As soon as the camera is shut down, they gleefully kick a soccer ball around the playground. The sun glints through the tree, catching images of four girls at play.
Serwetnyk believes that once girls feel good about themselves by playing sports, they become empowered to do the things they dream about. They find their voices. One soccer ball. Four girls. One voice. Magic.