Hard work and a punishing training schedule have paid off for 11-year-old Tseshaht First Nation member Rain Thomas.
This March, Rain and her parents will travel to Barcelona, Spain, where she is taking part in an elite youth soccer tournament.
Last fall, Rain was accepted into the FCB Escola Vancouver soccer academy, which is affiliated with Barcelona’s top professional soccer club. Since then, she has been training on a daily basis while maintaining an A average in her studies at Southlands Elementary in Vancouver.
The academy is based at the Fortius Sport & Health Centre in Burnaby. Ha-Shilth-Sa spoke with Rain’s mom, Nicky McConnell, on Tuesday evening, while she watched her daughter practice.
“She’s at UBC today. She trains at UBC on Tuesdays and at the Fortius Centre on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. On Sundays, she trains at the Richmond Oval,” McConnell said, adding, “I am a professional chauffeur.”
To that list, add three soccer games a week with her gold-level club, the Warriors of the Vancouver United Football Club.
On Sunday evenings, Rain practices the Brazilian indoor soccer known as Futsal. Otherwise, it is outdoors on the field, in all weather.
“I am so glad that I grew up on the West Coast, because I’ve spent so much time outside and I have a really good pair of rain pants. No other soccer parents have rain pants, and I say, ‘You guys need to grow up on the Island.’”
McConnell and Rain’s dad, Ivan Thomas, an artist, son of the late Harvey Thomas, both grew up in Port Alberni and later reconnected on the Lower Mainland. Ivan is an artist
Rain has been a multi-sport athlete since the age of five, playing both fastpitch and soccer at a high level. Last summer, she earned a silver medal with the Richmond Islanders in the B Division of the provincial fastpitch championship.
But on acceptance to the Barcelona academy, Rain has focused exclusively on soccer, at least, as far as sports are concerned, her Mom said.
With top marks in Math and Science, Rain has set her sights on the UBC School of Engineering. McConnell said she hopes to attend high school at Point Grey Secondary, which has a long list of distinguished graduates.
“I worry about sounding like the Boastful Mother, but she really is this awesome,” McConnell said. “This feels like a Disney story. Even better than that.”
McConnell said she and Thomas played both fastpitch and basketball. She has since dropped the basketball, but her partner still plays both. Not soccer, however.
“That’s why this was so strange. We all love baseball, but Rain has learned to love soccer more.”
Rain is the only girl in the U-12 age class at the academy, which is divided into two groups of 20 players. The athletes play a seven-a-side game, which is the format that will be used in Barcelona.
McConnell said it was especially nerve-wracking while waiting for the email to find out if Rain would be selected for the tournament.
“I was actually napping at the time, because I was just ready to take Rain to soccer. I had been checking the email every five minutes, and when it finally came in, I screamed so loud that Ivan thought I had stepped on the cat.”
McConnell believes the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which was hosted by Canada, has raised the profile of women’s soccer across the country, and the women of Team Canada have provided excellent role models for every Canadian girl who takes up the game.
“The timing couldn’t have been better for my daughter. These superstar athletes come in, and she was able to meet them a couple of weeks ago. You couldn’t pick better idols. They’re all very educated. It’s exciting to see her jaw drop when she realizes that’s Christine Sinclair, five feet away from her.”
Ultimately, Rain is determined to play for Team Canada while building a career as a professional engineer.
This is the fifth year the FCB Escola International tournament, which takes place March 21 through March 24. A total of 96 teams from 16 schools and 14 countries will compete in three age categories, U-10, U-12 and U-14. The event coincides with spring break in Vancouver.
Competitors fly out of Vancouver on March 19 and return on the 25th. McConnell said family members have provided Air Miles and cash to cover the cost ($3,050 plus taxes) for Rain to take part, and for herself and her partner to attend the event.
“We’re stopping in Holland to see some friends, then Ivan and I will be staying with another friend who lives in Barcelona.”
As for Rain, as of Tuesday, she had not informed her classmates at Southlands Elementary about her upcoming trip. McConnell said that appears to be in keeping with her approach to life: highly competitive on the field but low-key when it comes to publicizing her accomplishments.
“I got that feeling from some of the Team Canada women that we met,” McConnell said. “Maybe, after spring break, her friends will say, ‘Hey Rain – how come you’re so tanned?’ And she’ll say, ‘I went to Barcelona for a soccer tournament.’”
