Following the impressive path of her older siblings, Richmond soccer standout Ebony Clarke has been named to the inaugural roster for Western Canada’s first Regional Excel Centre (REX).
Already a member of the Whitecaps FC Elite’s part-time roster, Clarke was one of several players from the B.C. Premier Soccer League named to the program — joining five other full-time Whitecaps Elite players.
The 14-year-old midfielder came through the Richmond Girls Soccer Association, playing for her father Clive Clarke, and had a leading roll in helping the Richmond All-Stars capture the Provincial “A” Cup at the U13 level. She has since being playing in the BCPSL with Surrey United. Her older brother Caleb has been with the Whitecaps for a number of years and recently signed a contract extension with the MLS team. Her sister Summer is a sophomore at Louisiana State University where she earned a full-time scholarship after graduating from the Whitecaps Girls Elite program.
As part of the Canada Soccer Pathway, Whitecaps FC Girls Elite has merged with the REX program in Vancouver to maintain a standardized national curriculum for female players U13 to U18, feeding into Canada Soccer’s Women’s National EXCEL Program. The National EXCEL Program is a six-year structure for developing female players U14 to U20 who demonstrate the highest level of ability in preparation for their contribution to Canada’s Women’s National Team. The program is built on four pillars of development – physical, technical/tactical, mental, and social/emotional.
The REX program will be led by Whitecaps Elite Girls head coach Jesse Symons with support from his own staff and BC Soccer.
“This is a very talented group of young players that we’ve assembled for our inaugural REX roster,” said Symons. “We’re very excited to work with each of these players as they continue to develop along the Canada Soccer Pathway.”
Full-time players from the Whitecaps Girls Elite team joining the REX program include: defenders Simmrin Dhaliwal (Mountain United FC) and Olivia Sheppard (Coastal FC); midfielders Jenna Baxter (Surrey United SC) and Rachel Jones (Mountain United FC), and midfielder/striker Ashley Burgess (Coastal FC).
The remainder of the roster features: goalkeepers Abigail Hunt (Surrey United SC) and Faith O’Neill (Mountain United FC); defenders Bryana Buttar (Fraser Valley Premier), Sophie Damien (Mountain United FC), and Reese Moffatt (Surrey United SC)Emma Hooton (Mountain United FC), Kassie Kirlik (Surrey United SC), Danielle Mosher (Fusion FC), and Cecilia Way (Vancouver Island Wave); midfielders Julia Grosso (Mountain United FC), and Caitlin Shaw (Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC); and strikers Sagen Brar (Coastal FC), Camila Gomez-Hernandez (Mountain United FC), Jordyn Huitema (Surrey United SC), Shanya Dhindsa (Coastal FC)and Emma Regan (Mountain United FC).
