As a sportsman, Terry Wilson had a passion for soccer that showed in the way he played the game.
As an educator, Wilson loved how lessons learned on the soccer field enhanced the experience of his students who attended Catholic schools.
At Rotary Field on June 7, Wilson's impact as one of the pioneers of youth soccer in Prince George will be commemorated at the inaugural Terry Wilson Memorial Cup tournament for Catholic schools.
Teams from three Prince George schools -- Sacred Heart, St. Mary's, Immaculate Conception, and one Quesnel school - St. Anne's -- will converge at the home of Prince George Youth Soccer for a 12-team one-day tournament.
"We really want to emphasize that this is all about team participation and having fun, because that's what Terry would have wanted," said Terry Murphy, who emigrated with Wilson to Prince George in 1986. "His family back in Northern Ireland is delighted and honoured about this tournament."
Wilson died at age 47 last year on June 19 of brain cancer.
He and Murphy volunteered with the Roman Catholic Diocese and its Frontier Apostolate program soon after they arrived in Prince George from Ireland and Wilson became the phys-ed teacher at St. Mary's school, a job he held until 1991. He went on to become the principal at St. Anne's in Quesnel and at Sacred Heart in Prince George, until 2002, when he and his family moved to Picture Butte, Alta.
Having played semi-professional soccer in Ireland, Wilson gained a reputation as a top defender in the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League, playing for Teamsport and Niners Diner. He was also a rep team coach in the PGYSA, having achieved national B-level qualifications as a coach.
School officials at Immaculate Conception, with help from Shafeed Rahman and Vince Buljevic of the Northern Capital Sports Society, decided shortly after Wilson's death to revive a Catholic school tournament that went on for several years in Vanderhoof and have renamed it in his honour. Buljevic donated the trophy, now 25 years old, which will be called the Terry Wilson Memorial Cup.
"Shafeed and Vince wanted to do something like this ever since Terry passed away," said Murphy. "This is a great thing, because it's within his working and school environment and his friends who knew him from the start here."
The tournament is open to male and female Grade 6 and 7 students who will be playing on mixed teams. St. Mary's and Immaculate Conception will enter four teams each, while Sacred Heart and St. Anne's will send two teams to the field.
Twelve teams will be divided into four pools of three teams each. After playing two games against pool opponents, the top teams from each pool will meet in the semi-final round, with a championship final and two consolation finals to follow.
"Hopefully, this is going to be an annual thing," said Murphy.
