Dayle Colpitts may be a contender for Canada's national women's team, but on the weekend she put on her coach's cap in Prince George teaching some young goalkeepers the finer points of making saves.
"It's good for me as a player to see it from the other side," said Colpitts. "It's really good to reenforce all the main technical points that I need to be focused on just as much as they do."
The native of Fredericton is heading into her fourth, and final, year as the main goalkeeper for the Virginia Tech. Hokies in the NCAA Division 1 women's soccer.
Colpitts was invited to Prince George by UNBC Timberwolves women's soccer coach Andy Cameron, who coached during her teen years and was also her Team New Brunswick coach at the 2009 Canada Summer Games in P.E.I.
"He coached me all through high school for sure, if not before that, and was a huge part of my success," said Colpitts. "I remember in 11th grade I worked with him every morning before I went to school just on whatever I needed help with."
There were 17 keepers looking to Colpitts for guidance in everything from footwork and handling to breakaway saves to learning to cope with screened plays during the three-day clinic put on by the UNBC Timberwolves and the Prince George Youth Soccer Association at the Rotary Park fields.
Mason Legere, a 13-year-old keeper for the PGYSA U14 Kodiaks, said his coach encouraged him to sign up for the clinic, adding it's taught him valuable lessons like how to tackle properly and slide right. Colpitts said she was impressed with the talent among the northern B.C. players, including both UNBC keepers.
"From the start of the sessions to the end of the sessions there is huge improvements," said Colpitts. "They learn so fast and there's no limitations."
The Canada Games experience exposed Colpitts to the national team coaches for the first time, and gave her the opportunity to attend various camps with the national women's team during her Grade 12 year.
Colpitts also played with Canada's under-20 women's team at the 2012 U20 Women's World Cup in Japan, the CONCACAF championship in Guatemala and helped the team to the 2009 Cyprus Cup championship. Before starting her collegiate career, Colpitts spent a summer with the Ottawa Fury.
In three years at Virginia Tech., Colpitts set the school record for most single-season shutouts with seven during her sophomore season and matched the feat last year as a junior. Colpitts is second in all-time wins for the Hokies with 27, second in career shutouts with 18 and third in goals against average (1.34). She ranks fourth in saves with 196. In comparison, Timberwolves' keeper Jordan Hall faced 60 shots more than once last season.
Colpitts has started 65 games for the Hokies in her career and the 4,886 minutes she logged as a junior ranks her second all-time at Tech. In the NCAA playoff tournament the Hokies have advanced as far as the Sweet 16 during Colpitts' tenure.
"It's the perfect environment for me because I'm playing in the ACC [Atlantic Coast Conference] which is one of the top conferences in the NCAA and I'm playing against some of the best players in the country so it's really good competition," said the biology major.
Medical school may be in the distant future, but, the 21-year-old said she's focused on finishing her NCAA career and then moving on to compete for a position with the national women's soccer team.
"It's a really exciting time for soccer in Canada because, I think the standard is set, we know it's possible to medal at international competitions and it's exciting for up and coming players to be a part of," said Colpitts about the bronze medal the women won at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Colpitts recently attended a WNT EXCELeration camp, which is designed to smooth the transition from the under-20 program to the women's national team. In addition to Colpitts, four other keepers are looking to crack the women's roster for the 2015 Women's World Cup, which Canada is hosting.
"It's more of a waiting game right now for me," said Colpitts. "There's nothing for sure players are always in and out."
