It's the opportunity to play for Canada in her adopted hometown that has lured Kaelan Watson back to the West Coast.
After a decorated field hockey career at the University of Toronto, the 23-year-old is back in Richmond and a member of the senior women's national team. The standout defender earned her first international senior cap during a tour of Ireland in June and is
a good bet to be wearing Canadian colours again for next month's Pan American Cup in Mendoza, Argentina. An Australian tour is also planned for the fall.
As a four-time First Team All-Canadian and the 2010 CIS Championship MVP, there have been earlier opportunities to play for Canada that simply didn't fit into Watson's schedule. The national team is based out of Vancouver and the McRoberts secondary graduate has been busy establishing her roots back east, including earning her kinesiology degree which got her a job at the school.
It was the potential of playing at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and possibly the 2016 Summer Olympics too that got Watson's attention when she received a national team invite for a March evaluation camp in Vancouver.
"The Pan Ams was definitely a huge part of my decision," said Watson. "That was the final push for me to go to the last camp. I'm so happy I decided to do it. Getting a chance to play for my country in my adopted hometown would be pretty amazing."
A win in Toronto would send Canada to the Olympics for the first time since 1992. The upcoming Pan Am tournament will provide a preview but Argentina is considered Canada's biggest hurdle. Watson was encouraged with what she saw from her team in Ireland.
"It was really promising," she said. "Ireland is ranked 10 spots ahead of us and we were right there with them. This is a young team that is only going to get better over the next couple of years."
Looking for a sport where she could do more running, Watson signed up with Richmond Field Hockey when she was 10 and would learn the game under Lance and Nancy Carey. In high school, she was part of a powerhouse McRoberts team that won the provincials in her Grade 11 season and finished fourth a year later.
Despite playing on regional and provincial teams, Watson didn't even consider taking her career to the university level until she got the attention of Toronto head coach John DeSouza during provincials in her senior year.
She even needed some convincing from her parents before heading east to tour three Ontario schools - Guelph, Western and Toronto.
"I knew I wanted to go away for school but for the longest time I didn't want to play field hockey and I don't know why," laughed Watson. "The recruiting trip was just awesome. I loved Toronto so much. All the Vancouver girls on the team took me on a tour.
"I can't even imagine my life right now without having gone there. I met so many of my best friends there. The school is right downtown and there is just so many fun things to do all the time."
Watson also saw her game flourish under DeSouza who also happens to be an assistant with the national team. Her talent and potential was enough to earn status as a carded athlete during her third year at Toronto but she still wasn't ready for the frequent commuting to Vancouver to train with the team.
"It was just too tough to do and manage everything," Watson recalled. "I gave them the card back and told them it just wasn't the right time. I still wanted to be in good standing (with the program) in case it was something I wanted to do later on."
Watson was at least a fixture with the national indoor team that is based out of Toronto. The game is popular back east where the climate sends programs indoors to train throughout the winter. It is played in a hockey rink and was recently reduced to 4-on-4. She will be suiting up for Canada at the Pan Am Indoor Cup next April.
Submitted Photo / Richmond's Kaelan Watson starred at the University of Toronto.; Mark Booth, Richmond News / Kaelan Watson is back home and training with the national women's field hockey team which is based out of UBC after an spending the past five years going to school back east.;
