Golden girl comes to Calgary to inspire young soccer players

Nearly 200 of Calgary’s young female soccer players got a one-on-one session with arguably the best goalkeeper in the sport, Canada's Stephanie Labbé.

The now-retired member for Canada’s women’s national team recently won a gold medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and made 86 total appearances for the club throughout her career.

In collaboration with the Calgary Minor Soccer Association (CMSA), Labbé held her ‘Champions Tour’ – a soccer clinic for seven to 17-year-olds – aimed at elevating and empowering the next generation of female players.

“The biggest thing is just to follow your passion and believe in yourself because there's always going to be people that tell you you're not good enough or tell you that you won’t make it,” Labbé said.

“Believing in myself has taken me to some incredible places and I think as long as these girls believe that they can achieve something, then anything is going to happen.”

The event featured a series of drills, skill development activities and even a penalty shootout to cap off the fun.

For players like 14-year-old Fabienne Zumwalt of Calgary’s Foothills Soccer Club, it was opportunity to learn from the very best.

“It’s so exciting because she’s such a great player, it’s amazing to be able to pick her brain on all that she knows,” said Zumwalt.

“More and more people like Labbé are making the sport popular, especially for the women which is awesome because the Canadian women have been doing so great. it inspires young kids that say, ’oh, maybe I can do that when I'm older too.’”

The event was especially motivating for young goalkeepers like Julia Simons, a 15-year-old playing with Calgary’s Southwest United and training indoor with the Vancouver Whitecaps development program.

“I’ve been looking up to her for quite a while now,” Simons said.

“As a goalkeeper she’s just an outstanding person to learn about her communication, how to properly organize the back line.”

The Champions Tour finished off with a 30-minute motivational talk from Labbé who spoke of her challenges and triumphs both on and off the pitch.

Labbé announced her retirement on Jan. 19 and says the tour is a way to pass on knowledge but also reach out to some of the most talented and brightest young women across the country.