Building a Soccer Legacy in Halifax: A Conversation with Derek MartinIn this episode of Soccer Stories, hosts Jack and Andrew Murray are joined by Derek Martin, the founder and president of the Halifax Wanderers.

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Derek shares his journey from being a professional American football player to falling in love with soccer during his time in Europe. He discusses the genesis of Halifax Wanderers, starting with his vision to utilize the Wanderers Grounds, despite its initial dilapidated state.

Derek details the challenges and triumphs of creating a professional soccer club, including the logistics of building a temporary stadium and the community-focused approach that has contributed to the club's success. He also emphasizes the critical importance of creating a live event experience unique to soccer and his ambitions for the future, including winning a trophy and improving infrastructure.

Listeners gain insights into the intersection of sports management and community building, making this episode a must-listen for soccer enthusiasts and aspiring sports executives.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:20 Derek Martin's Journey to Soccer

01:38 The Birth of Halifax Wanderers

04:56 Challenges and Triumphs of the First Year

07:21 Building a Soccer Community in Halifax

13:36 The Unique Experience of Soccer Games

20:56 Balancing Team Development and Competitiveness

25:52 Future Aspirations for Halifax Wanderers

28:29 Conclusion and Farewell

Phebe Trotman podcast.We are back with our brand-new edition of the Soccer Stories Podcast!In our newest podcast episode, we sit down with Phebe Trotman. I am so glad my dad and I got the chance to interview her and share her story. Phebe is an inductee into multiple sports hall of fames, and the author of "Never Quit on a Bad Day." The conversation is nothing short of captivating as she shares her experiences, from the early days of playing on an all-boys team to reaching the pinnacle of her career and beyond.

In the interview, we discuss Chrisno’s:

Overall, Chrisno is an incredibly talented, committed and hard-working player that I’m incredibly happy I was able to interview. I’m excited for more people to hear his story and am thrilled that I had the opportunity to share it.

Enjoy the episode!

Soccer Stories: Get into the Journey with Elliot Simmons of Cavalry FC.

Hey everyone, it’s Jack here and today CPLFever is releasing an interview with one of the best midfielders in the CPL. One of my favourite players, Cavalry FC Regista Elliot Simmons!

I first met Elliot when I was a ball retriever for the Halifax Wanderers. I often got to talk with Elliot for a little bit in the hours leading up to kickoff. Elliot was always so kind and really easy to talk to. I always enjoyed watching him, too. I thought he was a tidy player with good technique and I always was impressed by his excellent soccer IQ.

Cavalry FC

It's clear that Elliot has found his home with Cavalry FC and under the tutelage of head gaffer, Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

We ask him a ton of questions about Cavalry ranging from what it is like to play under Tommy Wheeldon Jr., and whether he thought his gaffer was the best-dressed gaffer in the CPL.

Then we also talk about Elliot’s game style, how he has become such an amazing midfielder, how he developed his soccer IQ, his passing skill, and more!

Victory Shombusho is our latest player interview.

Hey everyone, it’s Jack here and I’m so incredibly thrilled to finally be releasing our interview with Victory Shumbusho! 

Victory gives some AWESOME tips on being a top striker.

(Unfortunately this interview was delayed as the audio needed some editing - but the final product is good.)

Every great player has had a different pathway on their way to becoming a professional soccer player, but I wanted to interview Victory because I think he has a story that is so inspiring. When I first read about him in a Canadian Premier League article, I was so inspired by his story that I wanted to know more about him.

We discussed his time in the Congo and we also spent time talking about what life was like in Uganda. He talks about how he started playing soccer in Uganda after moving from Congo. Victory speaks about how in Uganda, you had to be good enough to get on the field and play soccer. He had a desire to improve, and he asked a really good player to teach him tricks. Victory would do chores for the guy and in return, this player would teach Victory tricks and moves that he would practice. This really helped him develop his skills in a competitive environment.

Victory is someone who was persistent and he never gave up on his dream – Now he is starting to see the fruits of his labour by being a dominant striker at the U-Sports level and on the brink of playing in the CPL. I know if I was a coach of any CPL team, I would want him: fast, strong, and with a killer shot, Victory sounds like the whole package to me.

When Victory talked about being a striker, he was so descriptive that it really gave us a window into the “thinking” of a striker and he gave so many good tips for young players trying to excel in that position.

💪 Tip: For young strikers trying to learn from someone who plays your position, make sure you listen to this interview.

Overall, interviewing Victory is a definite must-listen. Follow his story and discover how he fell in love with soccer, came to Canada, his mindset and belief in sports psychology, his time with the Vancouver Whitecaps, what it was like being drafted by Pacific FC and Pa-Modou Kah, his time in U sports, and more...

Read more on the blog:

http://cplfever.ca/victory-shumbusho-interview

Welcome to another episode of “Soccer Stories: Get Into The Journey.” This week’s guest is Northern Ireland midfielder, Ollie Bassett.

I personally was so excited when Ollie accepted our offer to interview him.

Ollie, a newcomer to Pacific FC this year, has done fantastically under Pa-Modou Kah.

Before I had even seen Ollie play in the CPL I was excited for him because I had a hunch that he was going to be a real quality player for the Tridents. I have really enjoyed seeing him on the pitch for Pacific FC and in fact, I wrote an article about him after speaking to him in the press room.

In the interview, I had an absolute blast. We started off this interview by talking about his time in the Aston Villa Academy and how that shaped him as a player. It was incredible to get all of the details and to get on the inside of what a top club would be like. I especially liked hearing about how everything was done with a ball, for example, fitness was done with a ball and it was to get you as many touches on the ball as possible as a youngster.

We also spend a big portion of time chatting about futsal. Ollie explains how futsal also helped mold him into the soccer player that he is today.

Other topics we cover are his time in Yeoviltown, New Zealand, and playing for Northern Ireland.

During the course of the interview, you notice that Ollie is determined, committed to his sport and his attitude is something that young players should pay attention to because his attitude is top-notch, and in the professional game that is how you overcome the many roadblocks you will face.

So have fun and listen to this interview with one of my favourite players to watch in the CPL.

Welcome to another episode of, Fans Of The League with the Halifax Pirate himself, Denton Froese!

We did our first fans of the league episode a while back with Missy Searl. Daddy and I really enjoyed doing that and we are happy to be releasing another interview with another Wanderer’s superfan. 

Denton has been an avid supporter of the Halifax Wanderers and a bright spot whenever I got to see him at the grounds. 

When I was a ballboy at the Wanderers Grounds I would always see him in the stands cheering extra loudly in his absolutely awesome outfit!

In this interview, I was so excited to get his story. We talked about his love of the Halifax Wanderers, his fanzine "The HFX Cookbook,"  how his outfit came about, and of course, how excited he was to get back in the stands at the Wanderers grounds!

I have to say one of my favourite parts about the interview was hearing about how his pirate outfit came about. So if you want to know how an opera coat became a pirate coat and why Denton describes the experience as being the first on the dance floor, then be sure to have a listen!

So get ready and enjoy this interview with Halifax Wanderer’s superfan, the Pirate of the Wanderers Grounds, also known as Denton Froese!

Check out the blog post here.

Follow Denton on Twitter

#halifaxwanderers

#hfxwanderersfc

#canadianpremierleague

In part 2 of our interview with Canadian striker and legend, Iain Hume, we talk about his time playing the the English Championship with Leicester and the Tranmere Rovers. We also cover his dramatic head injury which left him with a large scar.

And we talk about his retirement from soccer as a player and how difficult that can be.

And Iain shares his next steps with his coaching.

Enjoy Part 2 of our interview with Iain Hume.

Click here to read the blog post and timestamps.

I'm ecstatic because the interview we are releasing is Part 1 with Canadian soccer icon, Iain Hume!

Getting the opportunity to chat with Iain, a Canadian striker with an unbelievable career, playing not only for his country but clubs like:

* Leicester City

* Barnsley

* Kerala Blasters FC

* Atletico de Kolkata

...has been a highlight for me here with CPLFever!

During this 2-hour interview (which is being released in 2 parts) we had the privilege to go in-depth into Iain's experiences! Iain has incredible knowledge and perspective on the game and this is a definite must-listen-to interview.

We covered so many interesting topics including how he became such a prolific striker and the hunger, desire, and tenacity you need to become one. Iain then highlights the different types of strikers which was a very eye-opening conversation.

In this full hour, we also covered him playing the Indian Super League and the current Canadian Men's National Team. He shares some interesting insights about what it's like to play for your country.   

Plus, we also get into some more topics like the media, being on the OneSoccer panel, and many more insights in Part 2, so stay tuned for that over the next couple of days!

Follow Iain Hume on Twitter and Instagram

Check out more about his unique coaching program here.

We started a new segment called "Fans of the League" where we talk to some of the fans around the Canadian Premier League #CanPL

The fans are the twelfth man, the fans are the ones that make any league special, and I think that the CPL fans have been great to the league and the teams. We wanted to share the stories of all of these amazing superfans and how they fell in love with their teams. 

So when I thought about the quintessential fan, I knew who I had to interview. Our first fan could be none other than the fan who is known as Mama Searl! The Mama of the Halifax Wanderers, Missy Searl!

I have been friends with Missy for a while now. We first met when I was a ballboy for the Halifax Wanderers and usually I was the ballboy in front of her section. I always had such a fun time being a ballboy, and I always thought that all the fans were great but I particularly always remembered Missy and her family by the amount of passion they exuded for the Wanderers on game days!

Later on we became friends on Instagram, we talked frequently to each other there and we bonded outside of the Wanderers and the CPL with her love of the Spanish National team, and her cooking, boy can she cook!

We go into both of those topics in this interview.  Missy is such a great person and part of this segment is getting to know the fans.  Along with her love for the Wanderers, Missy is making a huge difference in the community where she has her own business, “L Searl Virtual Consulting Services” where she helps and advises small business owners. To learn more about this, be sure to reach out to her on Instagram or Twitter.

Check out out blog post for more info.