Menâs soccer captain
By Davie Wong, Sports Editor
When Kwantlen Polytechnic University made the decision that the 2015â16 season would be the last year their athletics program ran, it broke the hearts of many athletes. For many, it shut down their chance to play at a collegiate level. But for others, it created a new opportunity. Anthony McCullough was one of the students who seized that opportunity.
Having thought his collegiate career was over, the fourth year captain made his last year his best. His team came second at the PACWEST Provincial Tournament, and went to the CCAA National Tournament. Although they came fifth, it was a memory that will likely last a lifetime. Finished with the season, McCullough graduated with a Bachelors in business, and set about settling into the post-college life. However, that life didnât come to McCullough as he thought it would, and he lingered with his heart in soccer, and his degree in something else.
Thatâs when coaches Robby Toor and Paul Bahia came calling. A position on the menâs soccer team and a chance to earn a diploma in sports scienceâwhere his heart was leading himâwas something McCullough couldnât turn down. But before we really talk about McCulloughâs journey to the Royals, we should talk about what led him to the beautiful game to begin with.
Anthony McCullough really doesnât know the age at which he started playing soccer. Unlike many others, McCullough wasnât put into soccer camps to find the game; the game found him. As McCullough explains, it was really just chance. âWhen I was just a kid, my next door neighbour donated me a pair of soccer cleats that were three or four sizes too big for me at the time. My parents used to help me stuff them with newspaper, and Iâd go out there and start kicking a ball. Everyone that saw me play said I was a natural, and told my parents to put me in soccer. From there the rest is history.â History indeed, as McCulloughâs path forever changed that day.
Now he brings that history with him here, to Douglas College. His goals are already ambitious, but to him, thatâs only normal. âItâs my fifth year now. My personal goal is definitely [to] come home with a national gold, and nothing less. I got a taste of what it was like with the KPU squad last year and that was a great accomplishment. But now, Iâve got my eyes on nothing less than a national gold.â But it wasnât always sunshine and rainbows for the fifth-year captain.
The beginning of the pre-season saw a few other KPU players make their way over to the Royals in an attempt to crack the team roster. It wasnât easy for the players. But as McCullough says, the team has only gotten better since. âThe beginning of the pre-season, it didnât look like the whole outline of how this year was going to work, was going to work at all. At times it looked sloppy and like we were all trying to play our different kinds of styles of soccer. Over time weâve adapted. We put players in the right positions, the chemistry has been working, and weâre looking to keep thriving off that success.â
McCullough was one of the players that has had to adapt. Originally a centre midfielder, McCullough now plays as a fullback. For some, that transition would have been impossible to make. McCullough has worked hard to fit into his new position, and has impressed his coaches enough to make the first team. However, he doesnât shy away from admitting the level of difficulty the move has been for him. âAt times itâs been stressful for me, but itâs something that I feel is a challenge for me, and Iâm one of those guys that performs under pressure. So Iâm looking forward to seeing what good things are coming moving forward.â
That sort of attitude is a huge factor as to why he was made the captain for this yearâs team. However, that too has been a challenge, as it always has been. âItâs a lot different being captain. Youâre not only responsible for yourself, youâre responsible for the whole team as well. Itâs definitely been something that, even now, Iâm still getting used to.â It is not McCulloughâs first time being put in a leadership role, either. During his time with the KPU Eagles, he was their co-captain in his third year, and their captain in his fourth year. Yet every year has thrown a different challenge at him.
This year was no different, as he finds himself in the very unique position of being a captain on a team that heâs just transferred to. âItâs quite the experience. Iâm not sure how many people have been in the scenario Iâm in, but I think Iâm one of the first. Itâs a little bit challenging at times because a lot of faces are new, but having some of my former KPU teammates on the team with me makes things a little bit easier. Itâs really just about doing what I know. I have to stick to how I lead my team last year, and I just need the rest of the team to buy into the same kind of system.â
Luckily for him, the team has done exactly that. They have bought into his leadership and his system. It seems as though the coaches knew exactly what they were doing when they named McCullough captain, and so far, itâs paid off. This year will be far from easy for the team, as the CCAA silver medalists and PACWEST gold medalists, the Capilano Blues, will likely be in the way of McCulloughâs ambitions. But if Iâve learned anything about Anthony McCullough, itâs that he loves a challenge.