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In the beginning of April, volunteers from Right To Play, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) and the MLSE Foundation traveled to Manitoulin Island for the MLSE Sport for Development Showcase. As part of Right To Play’s Promoting Life-skills in Aboriginal Youth (PLAY) program, over 170 youth from seven First Nation communities enjoyed three days of fun and engaging activities while developing skills through sports and building new friendships. Each day was highlighted by a different sport clinic with soccer being led by Toronto FC’s Danny Koevermans and Canada’s 2012 U-17 Women’s World Cup midfielder Rebecca Quinn. Between sessions, Quinn was kind enough to chat with RedNation about her charitable interests and her experiences with the beautiful game.
Melissa Tan: How did you get involved with the Development Showcase?
Rebecca Quinn: I’m good friends with someone on TFC and they thought that having a female role model would be really good for the kids. I definitely agree with that. Growing up, a lot of my coaches were male, so it’s always great to see a female athlete out there.
MT: You mentioned that you were involved with another Right To Play event earlier. How come you support Right To Play? Are there other charities that you support too?
RQ: Right To Play is a big one. It’s a great charity. I also do athletic promotions through my school to inner city kids in Toronto. I’ve seen so many videos on Right To Play and what they’re doing around the world. I heard last week that they’re reaching a million kids a week, which I think is just phenomenal. It’s grown so quickly.
MT: You’ve played a bunch of different sports. What does sport and play mean to you?
RQ: I think it’s great. Over the years, I’ve learned so many things through sports. I’ve been learning that leadership is one of the biggest things in your game. My coaches have told me, “Yeah, you can be the best player, but without that leadership quality then you’re not going to make an impact on the field.” That applies to so many other things in my life outside of athletics and the school environment.
MT: You’re a midfielder. How would you describe your style and game?
RQ: I really like having the ball at my feet; give-and-go. I’m not one for long ball. It’s about controlling the game.
MT: What was your exposure to the national team while growing up?
RQ: It was pretty good. I went to the Women’s World Cup 2003 and saw a lot of the players. Recently, I was at an acceleration camp, so I got to play with some of the players who I’d looked up to, gotten autographs from and taken pictures with. It was a pretty neat experience being around some of the players who I admired when I was younger.
MT: Were you coaching with them? It was for Grass2Gold, right?
RQ: Yeah, Grass2Gold. I was coaching with a few of them.
MT: Talk about some of your experiences in Azerbaijan [2012 U-17 Women's World Cup].
RQ: It was good. It was my first real soccer competition at the international level. It was a really interesting experience. We obviously wished for a better result, but we still got out of the group stage, which was good. I’m sure that there will be better things to come now that we [the younger players] know what international competition is like and what we need to be prepared for.
MT: Looking into the future with school or your personal life, what are your aspirations?
RQ: I’m going to college next year. I definitely want to perform well at that. I’ll hopefully be continuing with the national team. Who knows?
MT: Big things. You signed with Duke, right?
RQ: Yeah, I signed with Duke. It should be a good season next year. It’ll be busy but good.
MT: Have you had a chance to chat with John Herdman or anything like that?
RQ: Yeah, he was at one of our U-17 camps. He stayed there for a few days and helped to coach some of our training sessions. It’s really interesting how he’s implementing his style into the program from the senior team down to the U-17s.
RIGHT TO PLAY AND MLSE, DAY 3 - WHITEFISH RIVER FIRST NATION:
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