A St. Albert Impact goalkeeper is the last line of defence for the west against the east in the June 22 showdown to represent Canada at the 14th annual Danone Nations Cup.
Jordan Thom was selected to backstop the team of 10- to 12-year-olds from Alberta and British Columbia after a series of tryouts to determine the 11-man line-up for the national final at Saputo Stadium in Montreal.
“I’m very excited. I can’t wait to go,” said Thom, 12.
The winning team travels to London, England to kick the ball at the Sept. 5 to 7 Danone Nations Cup, billed as the world's largest international soccer tournament for 10 to 12 age range with 32 countries participating.
“I’m thinking a lot about that,” Thom said.
Last year Thom tried out for the western team but was cut after the second leg in the process.
“It kind of fuelled my fire for making the team because I knew it was my last year so I used the determination from last year to help me out this year,” said the Grade 6 student at J.J. Nearing Catholic Elementary School.
Thom logged extra hours indoors and outdoors working on the basics with his dad, Al, and for the third year in a row he attends goalkeeping training sessions in Edmonton twice a week.
“I also read a book on sports psychology,” said the U14 Tier 2 Impact player, who added his biggest strength as a goalkeeper “is communicating with my teammates.”
Thom’s first tryout for the western team was in Edmonton, where a handful of goalkeepers from about 30 hopefuls moved on to Calgary. They were joined by an equal number of goalkeepers from a previous tryout camp in Cowtown.
“I was nervous at the first one and the second one too,” Thom said.
Tryouts for B.C. players were staged in Vancouver.
When the final roster was announced, “I was just going crazy,” Thom recalled. “My dad got the e-mail that said who made the team and then following that he got an e-mail saying congratulations.”
The first time Thom will meet his teammates is at a training camp a few days before the match against the eastern team, made up of the best 11 players from Ontario and Quebec.
“It’s going to be a bit of a challenge to get to know everyone in the short amount of time we have before the game,” he said. “I will be training extra hard here preparing for that because I want to play the best I can to help out the western team.”
Last year Thom’s buddy, forward Ethan Delhez, made the cut to play in the national final at BMO Field in Toronto. The east won for a berth at the Danone Nations Cup in Warsaw, Poland.
“One thing he said when you go over to the east where we play there is a lot of people cheering for the eastern team so at times it gets a little overwhelming. He said don’t let that bother you and just play like you would here and play your best,” Thom said.
Soccer engulfed Thom’s life from an early age.
“I have three cousins and they all play high level soccer and they kind of got me started into it,” said the first-year soccer referee. “Ever since then I just loved the sport and how much fun it is, like running up and down the field, and just getting to know a lot of people.
“I just have a passion for it. It’s what I love to do.”
Thom got his kicks in at an early age on defence before making the switch to goalkeeper.
“It started around in U10. Our goalkeeper got sick so I filled in for him and ever since then I’ve been in net.”
At times it can be stressful between the posts.
“If the ball gets through the defence I’m the last man defending our goal so I get nervous at times.”
The butterflies have already started as Thom counts down the days to the national final.
“At night I just lay back in bed and visualize how I got there and sometimes I go, ‘Is this actually happening?’ ”
