Cameron MacIsaac is a first-year midfielder on the Cascades women’s soccer team from the competitive soccer region of Burlington, Ontario. Playing soccer at a university level was a goal for her even if that meant being thousands of kilometres away from home. Despite the distance, MacIsaac’s friends and family are behind her every step and cheering her on as she begins her Cascades career under the tutelage of head coach Ari Adams.
How did you get your start in soccer? Â
I started playing soccer when I was eight-years-old — I switched between a couple of clubs, and then finally found the right one for me — which kind of led me to playing here.Â
What is the soccer scene like in Burlington?
It’s really competitive, every team that we [played] was always a super hard game. Getting onto teams was always pretty competitive. Even going into high school soccer, there was always a lot of competition between the girls.
Were there any other sports that you played?Â
I played a little bit of volleyball in high school. I’m a runner, I like to run … me and my mom love to play pickleball together. When I was little I was always playing all the sports, but strictly soccer once I got older.
Who has been the most impactful coach in your life?
Casey Downey was really influential for me. Not only did he help me a lot throughout my recruiting process, he also taught me many things I know as a player and as a person. Leaving his team to come here was definitely tough, but great for me to continue with university soccer, and that was his goal for all of his players, and especially for me, I had a great relationship with him.Â
Do you have any other meaningful connections from soccer?Â
I’ve had some amazing friends through soccer, [it] has brought a lot of friendships for me. I would [also] say my sister, [Brogan MacIsaac]. She plays soccer at the university level as well. She’s two years older than me, and she’s definitely helped me grow as a player.
How have you been handling the transition between youth and university level soccer?
Coming in as a rookie, it’s a big change. My teammates have helped me through this transition, even just the competition at our practices. I already feel like I’ve become a better player just [from] playing with this level of soccer and these girls.Â
How did you first hear about the UFV program?
Throughout my recruiting process I was looking at many different schools, and then I just got in contact with Ari and came and saw the school. And once I got here, I really fell in love.
Did you set any goals for yourself coming into your rookie year?
One goal for me was not even games — it was more practices. I just wanted to prove myself in practices, because I knew practices were going to be something that I always had — I didn’t know if I was going to get the games, but I knew I was always going to get the practices. I knew I wanted to show up in practices 100 per cent of the time and work hard every chance that I could get.Â
How has the move to B.C. been while being away from home?Â
It’s been really tough being so far away … I can still FaceTime my parents and my friends and keep in contact with them, and they have been so encouraging on my journey … So even though I’m far away from them, I still feel supported and encouraged.Â
What has your head coach meant to you so far?Â
Ari has been really great for me. So far, she’s already taught me so many lessons and helped me as a player. [She] definitely has already made an extreme impact on me in the short time that I’ve been playing on her team.
It’s been a bit of a roller coaster start to the season for you guys, one weekend with two losses, another with two wins. How have you and your teammates been able to handle that adversity you’ve faced so far?Â
Going into our first weekend we knew it was going to be a tough one, and we have just continued to grow from that start as a team. We’ve all become so competitive and going on the field every single person has put [in] 100 per cent and I see that growing throughout the season.
Q&A has been edited for length and clarity
