News Archives: Q&A: GPRC Wolves Men's Soccer Athletes
Friday, August 7th, 2020
GPRC Wolves Men's Soccer athlete, Kyle Pele.
We chatted with current GPRC Wolves Men’s Soccer athletes, Kyle Pele, Troy Petrie, Pieter Boone and Blake Hoogestraat to discuss their journey to GPRC, favourite memories so far and their love of the game.
What is your earliest soccer memory?
Pele: My earliest soccer memory was when I was four years old playing Timbits soccer.
Petrie: My first real memory of playing soccer was when I was five or six playing Timbits soccer. We would play at our local community centre with little pop up nets. Nobody knew the rules so we all would just chase the ball for an hour. Sometimes I wouldn’t want to play and my parents would have to try to convince me to get back onto the field and chase the ball.
Boone: My earliest memory of playing the game was when I was just starting out. I loved the number nine because of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, that and it was a backwards P!
Hoogestraat: Earliest memory of playing soccer would be eating the oranges at halftime during split games in U6.
What was your journey to come play for GPRC?
Pele: I knew I wanted to go somewhere for soccer. GPRC offered me everything that I wanted so I kept working hard.
Petrie: My journey to college soccer happened very quickly. Before I finished high school, my mom found an ID camp in British Columbia called the Shawnigan Lake ID Camp. The camp was five days long and we would practice and play every day with 8-10 coaches from across Canada and the USA attending. We decided that I would go to the camp to get my name out because soccer in Manitoba isn’t very good at exposing their players to college/university coaches. After I graduated high school I was planning on going to the University of Manitoba which doesn’t have a Men’s Soccer Program and playing the highest level of men’s soccer in Winnipeg. However, a day or two after the ID camp I got two emails: one from GPRC and the other from Ambrose University. I was in contact with both coaches but GPRC looked like the better option. And sure enough a couple weeks later I was driving 17 hours to Grande Prairie from Winnipeg.
Boone: I was looking for a challenge and as a young 17-year-old I was egger to play. I was promised a lot of minutes and thought that this would be the best move for myself. From training in academies my whole life, I knew that when I stepped foot on the pitch for training or game day, I was ready.
Hoogestraat: I took the long route to college soccer. Never played competitive soccer and five years after high school I came as a walk-on.
What are your favourite memories of representing GPRC so far?
Pele: Any game where I’m wearing a Wolves jersey has been a good one. Everyone hates to lose there is no doubt about it, but looking back on the games, I wouldn’t have wanted to wear any other jersey but a Wolves one.
Petrie: My favourite memory of representing GPRC so far is when our whole team gets to the field wearing our gear and we stare down at the other team.
Boone: For some reason people always hate the bus ride, but it’s some of my fondest moments because of all the friendly banter to actually getting to know your teammates in a non training atmosphere. I also loved it when Chris finally took my word that I could play as a number nine and I could finally score some goals!
Hoogestraat: My very first start against Kings, winning player of the match with family making the drive to Augustana, every soccer camp/fundraiser and involvement with the community.
Have you endured any disappointments in your career so far?
Pele: The season was a complete disappointment. From drawing against too many teams to losing against teams we knew we could beat, the season shocked me. Coming in as a recruit, our squad looked solid. We had a good group of guys that had a desire to win. We got caught with some unlucky defeats which brought us lower in the table.
Petrie: Biggest disappointment from last season is how we finished in the league. We couldn’t score which cost us valuable points in the league. Our games were always close, it would either be a tie or a 1-0 game.
Boone: There have been many ups and downs in my career at GPRC, I would say the biggest disappointment is never making it to provincials and being able to show the province our true skill.
Hoogestraat: My main disappointment is always being injured and unable to give my teammates everything. Also no one else was brave enough to rock a mullet in ACAC.
In your opinion, who has been a standout teammate and who has been your toughest opponent so far?
Pele: The best player I have played with is Michael Authenac. The guy knows how to work and would do anything to play the game. This season he outworked others with a fractured collar bone. My toughest opponent would easily be Christian Lima from NAIT. Marking him in the midfield is a task and a half. He is crazy shifty with his feet which makes him incredibly unpredictable.
Petrie: I’ve played with two very good players over my soccer career. The first is Tyler Attardo, he played for Valour Football Club in the Canadian Premier League but was recently traded to a team in Chile. The next player is Josip Zorica who is playing in Croatia currently. My toughest opponent would have to be someone from Winnipeg in the men’s league I’m playing in. There are so many good players that will stay hidden in Winnipeg, it’s hard to choose just one.
Boone: I would say Alphonso Davies. He was lightning quick and at times hard to keep up with.
Hoogestraat: The best player I have had the privilege of playing alongside is Pieter Boone No one comes close. Best player I have played against would be the keeper at Kings who saved my only shot and any of the national championship squad from Keyano.
What advice do you have for prospective GPRC student athletes?
Pele: The one and only piece of advice I can give is work, work, work. Not only in the sport portion but the education portion as well. Aim to be the best in everything. Whether it’s getting the highest GPA on your team or even a simple sprint in practice, be number one. If you work hard and give it your 100%, the rest will take care of itself and you will have a bright future.
Petrie: The advice I would give to a potential up and coming GPRC student athlete is nothing is guaranteed, you have to put in the work and give your all in everything you do. You have to do the work when nobody is watching to get results. For me, I was hoping to start every game for my rookie year but I didn’t know what the team looked like until I got there. When preseason started, I worked my butt off and got the starting job. Towards the end of the season coach called me in for a meeting and told me he was surprised by my performance this season because he only thought I was going to be a red shirt my first year. In coach's defence, he was taking a risk on me because he didn’t know much about me and only saw me play for five days but he needed more players. Now, going into my second year at GPRC, I look at myself as one of the core guys of the team and a leader that others could look up to.
Boone: Always enjoy the little things. Listen to your coaches and make sure you do well in school. Always make sure to take pictures of your happiest times they are always a good reminder of the past!
Hoogestraat: Value every moment and never take the chance for granted. Respect Head Coach, Chris Morgan as he knows the game best and will always have your best interests at heart.
Learn more about the GPRC Wolves Men’s Soccer team here.
Find the GPRC Wolves on social media here.
