Langford, BC – March 1, 2023 – Pacific FC and St. John’s Academy at Shawnigan Lake today announce a new partnership that will see the Canadian Premier League (CPL) club and the Shawnigan Lake-based independent school launch a youth soccer academy, The Football Academy, complete with coaching by Pacific’s Manager of Football and Player Development Jamar Dixon.
Through The Football Academy, select students will dedicate a portion of their school day to intensive training alongside their studies. Sessions will include tutelage from former Pacific captain Dixon. The academy will officially open in September 2023.
“The objective of The Football Academy is to develop complete soccer players by focusing on specific fundamentals of the game such as team morale and culture, mental and physical aspects of the game, as well as technical and tactical awareness,” said Jamar Dixon, Academy Director.
“St. John’s Academy wants to create a safe and supportive environment where players can demonstrate their abilities while adapting to a unique coaching philosophy.”
The academy’s inaugural class will be comprised of Grade 9 and 10 male students, who will spend the first three hours of each school day practicing at Pacific’s Island Training Centre, followed by academic classes back on campus. Additional training will be offered to the student athletes in the early evenings. The academy will be offered to this group of students as they continue on through high school, adding academy grades each academic year, with plans to expand to female students in the future.
“Our goal is to provide students in the program with world-class learning and character development through education and soccer and to help them reach their highest potential as athletes, students, and citizens,” said Kimberly Edgson, a member of SJA’s Senior Educational Leadership Team.
“Vancouver Island is a hub for soccer, and we are creating an opportunity for our students to immerse themselves in the game while getting a top-notch education.”
Pacific FC has a robust youth program operating out of the Island Training Centre called the Vancouver Island Wave Program. Dixon has extensive experience coaching in that program along with other past and current Pacific FC players. Dixon’s coaching prowess includes winning the 2022 BCSPL Championship with the 2008 boys Wave team.
Pacific and the CPL launched in 2019 with the mandate of identifying and developing homegrown Canadian talent. As Pacific looks ahead to the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, and beyond, the club is committed to developing specialty programming like The Football Academy to play its part in providing new opportunities for youth to focus on the sport of soccer and have a future in the game.
Stay tuned to pacificfc.ca and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.
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ABOUT PACIFIC FOOTBALL CLUB
Founded in 2018, Pacific Football Club brings professional football to Vancouver Island. Playing out of Starlight Stadium in Langford, the club provides an outlet for Canadian soccer players to compete at the professional level of the sport on home soil through the Canadian Premier League.
ABOUT ST. JOHN’S ACADEMY
St. John’s Academy Shawnigan Lake offers an academically rigorous and transformational learning program for tomorrow’s leaders in a caring and supportive environment. The holistic programs develop a sense of adventure and an appreciation of nature and the Arts, enabling students to make positive contributions to local and global communities through responsible and principled action.
Learn More about life at St. John’s Academy Shawnigan Lake.