In his homeland, it's called football. Here in Canada, it's referred to as soccer.
Either way, Richard Watt is wild about it. As the new president of the Prince George Youth Soccer Association, he'll bring passion to the post.
Watt, a 48-year-old who arrived in Prince George from England four years ago, was elected PGYSA president at the association's annual general meeting last week. He replaced Paula Van Horlick, who served as president for three years but decided not to seek re-election to the PGYSA board.
Watt is now the leader of an organization that had close to 2,800 players last outdoor season. Players range in age from Under-3 to Under-18 and participate at all different levels -- from house league to select to the PGYSA Showcase Academy. Watt's vision is for the association to offer equal value to all.
"It's about inclusiveness, it's about doing what is appropriate developmentally, by which I mean that we're not either leaving children behind or pushing them too hard," he said. "It's about spreading the word about a sport that is available to everyone. And what we're trying to do is implement a long-term player and athlete development model which will serve all the children that come through our organization for the rest of their lives, not just for the few years that they're with us as soccer players."
Watt has two sons who play in the PGYSA, 13-year-old Cameron and 10-year-old Conor.
When the Watt family -- including wife and mother Zoe -- first landed in Prince George, Watt didn't take long to get involved in coaching. Then, part way through last season, he took over from Dave Holmes as vice-president.
"I wanted to try and have some continuity there, even if a different person was chosen as president, that I would at least have had some exposure to all the day-to-day stuff," Watt said.
"I had two or three months of shadowing with Paula and making sure I was aware of all the issues. I was also on the hiring committee when we hired our new technical director."
That man is Joel MacDonald, a former Ottawa resident who has now been in town for about a month. Watt is enthusiastic about the initiatives MacDonald is putting into action, including the implementation of free drop-in coaching clinics on Wednesday nights.
"It's been a great success," Watt said. "We've had a lot of coaches new and old come out, and not all the same faces that you normally see at these things. It's been really positive."
As for Van Horlick, she said the time was right for her to step down as president.
"I've been on the board six years, so that's the biggest reason," she said. "And I think sometimes it's good to have new leadership, new ideas. I also need some time with my family. My son (Austin) has moved away. He's living in Vancouver, and I have a daughter (Brooklyn) as well, and since Austin moved she has sort of become an only child. It was time for me to invest back in my family."
Van Horlick, however, will stay on as PGYSA past-president for at least a year. She will also continue to help with the management of the Showcase Academy and will volunteer at the association's various tournaments and the annual mini festival.
"They've asked me to stay on (as past-president) because we don't have a lot of experience on the board," she said. "Most of the board is fairly new."
New board members chosen at the AGM were Anna Barnes, Grant Emmond, Guy Jubinville, Tony Preston and Marcie O'Beirne. Returning board members are Steve Raper, who is the new vice-president, Debbie Stewart, Lorrelle Hall, Rob Lewis, Dean Rolufs and Dustie Hall.
