Soccer in B.C. continues to grow as 2024 ticks on. First, League1 BC announced the addition of two new teams through Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club and Langley United Soccer Association, and in July Vancouver FC announced a strategic partnership with Fraser Valley Soccer League (FVSL) which saw the creation of Vancouver’s U-19 Academy. Now, not only have the Eagles shared the inaugural roster for the U-19 Academy, VFC also announced the club has hired Todd May to serve as the first-ever head coach.
“We are very excited to appoint Todd as the head coach of our U-19 side,” said Vancouver’s President Rob Friend. “He brings extensive experience in the Lower Mainland’s youth game, as well as a commitment to developing up-and-coming players in our communities.”
That local experience was most recently earned at Burnaby FC (BFC) as both the League1 BC Men’s head coach and a high performance coach in the B.C. Soccer Premier League (BCSPL), the highest level of youth soccer in the province. May also brings hardware with him to VFC after securing a silver medal with BFC’s U-17 squad in Canada Soccer’s inaugural Player-Development Program (PDP) Championship just a month ago. That performance was a follow up to his leadership in 2023 where that year’s BFC U-17 squad, which also featured VFC’s development player Joey Buchanan, won the Toyota Nationals Championship.
“I am very excited to be joining Vancouver in their launch of a U-19 Academy team,” said May. “This is an important opportunity for the development of youth soccer in this region and I’m honored to be taking the reins from the start.”
On the local side, May has previously coached for Simon Fraser University and Barça Academy in Vancouver; however, the 35-year-old gaffer also brings Canadian Premier League (CPL) experience. May joined FC Edmonton as an assistant coach in 2022 for their final season.
“We are confident [Todd] will lead this team to success while playing his part in the overall development of emerging talent in our area,” Friend continued.
Along with the hiring of May, the Eagles shared the first 25 U-19 players who will compete with the Academy team in the Premier Division of FVSL starting in September. The roster is composed of two types of players – full-time and part-time – which Vancouver is thrilled to provide training opportunities as it continues the club’s commitments of working with the surrounding communities while also growing the game in B.C.
“We are looking forward to enhancing the great work that youth club’s in our community are already fulfilling and add another component to the highly competitive environment that currently exists,” May adds.
The nine full-time players are unattached, unsigned youth players who will train completely with VFC’s U-19 squad and/or Vancouver FC First Team players who have signed Developmental contracts within the club’s Master Roster which include Exceptional Young Talent contracts, Development Contracts – such as Joey Buchanan -, and U SPORTS contracts – such as Sebastian Dzikowski – to gain valuable off-season training.
Part-time players can be signed BCSPL and/or Academy youth players who’ll train with the U-19’s as a supplemental development opportunity to their current youth club’s requirements.
Vancouver FC is excited to introduce the 25 U-19 players listed below:
Vancouver’s U-19 full-time players:
A-Z Name / Hometown / Former Club
Boogemans, Oliver / Richmond, BC / Fusion FC
de Vries, Axl / Kelowna, BC / Thompson Okanagan FC
Frank, Jakob / Delta, BC / Fusion FC
Jaramillo Drolet, Felipe / Vancouver, BC / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
Kovitch, Jackson / Saskatoon, SK / Alliance FC
Nielsen, Aidan / Langley, BC / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
de Sousa, Anthony / Maple Ridge, BC / Vancity Pro
Joseph, Dominic / Pitt Meadows, BC / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
Otuomagie, Tristan / North Vancouver, BC / TSS Rovers
Vancouver’s U-19 part-time players:
A-Z Name / Hometown / Current Club
Abay, Mondo / Vancouver, BC / Surrey United FC
Ajagbe, Michael / Surrey, BC / Surrey United FC
Campbell, Cohen / Delta, BC / Coastal FC
Dharamsi, Joaquim / North Vancouver, BC / Surrey United FC
Friend, Lucas / North Vancouver, BC / North Vancouver FC
Glass, Tyler / Vancouver, BC / Fusion FC
Gill, Sukhman / Coquitlam, BC / Langley United SA
Kerr, Andrew / Delta, BC / Coastal FC
Main, Marcus / Langley, BC / Langley United SA
Martino, Matteo / Surrey, BC / Surrey United FC
McLarty, Brady / Langley, BC / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
Pegg, Aidan / Surrey, BC / Coastal FC
Riascos, Jordan / Langley, BC / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
Schmidt, Grayson / Delta, BC / Coastal FC
Schulze, Landon / Surrey, BC / Coastal FC
Strauss, Romeo / White Rock, BC / Coastal FC
To welcome this new team to the VFC family, the club is excited to host a half-time presentation to introduce May and these players to the hometown crowd at VFC’s next home match on Saturday, Sept. 21. The game against Forge FC will kick off at 3 p.m. PT and tickets are still available to purchase online here or in person at Willoughby Park on game day.
