The fate of the Niverville Force soccer team was briefly up in the air earlier this spring after a bit of an off-season shakeup. However, the team has hit the pitch again for another exciting season.
In 2021, Thompson and Andry Giesbrecht bought and created the Force. With Giesbrecht as coach, in three short years the pair guided the athletes from a Division Three team to a Division One team.
This year, however, Giesbrecht made the decision to move back to his native Paraguay with his family. Thompson says that Giesbrecht’s decision was a real blow to the entire team but that he will remain a co-owner and will be cheering on the Force from South America.
“We hope to make him proud,” says Thompson.
Thompson says the players were so devastated that Giesbrecht was leaving that some of them decided to leave. But she was determined to keep her soccer family together and began a campaign to keep the Force going strong.
Tryouts were recently held to refill the team’s roster, resulting in four new players. And after the first practice, some of the old players changed their minds and decided to stay with the squad.
Thompson has also needed to find a new coach. To fill this all-important position, she turned to an old friend, Walt McKee.
McKee and Thompson created the Niverville Rush U15 soccer team back in 2017. McKee is a huge name in soccer in Manitoba, and in athletics more generally.
After giving the decision some though, McKee signed on.
He first came on the scene in 1969 when he joined the University of Manitoba Bisons football team. This team was the first in the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) to win back-to-back Vanier Cup championships.
McKee then played in the CFL from 1972 to 1975, first with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and then as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos in their Grey Cup-winning 1975 season. He has since remained active, coaching soccer for many years.
There will be another change for the Force this year, in that Division One games have professional linesmen. Thompson explains that although it increases costs for the team, it’s important to have professionals who can make accurate calls.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that the Force has tremendous sponsors. This year’s players will don new black uniforms thanks to Negash Coffee and Urban Flavours.
Chris Hofer, a local realtor, and John Schmitke, owner of Your Grocery People, also made donations to lower the registration cost for each player. And Marcus Giesbrecht of Onova Classic Consulting is providing each athlete with personalized Adidas track jackets.
Thompson has high hopes for the season, which has already started off with a bang. The Force won their first game in early May.
She also hopes to get even more fans out for home games this year.
“I hope that we can get more than 100 or 150 spectators,” Thompson says. “Like, I hope we really can crush it in town this year.”
