Who We Are
Founded in 2019 by UEFA A Licensed coach Eddie Mukahanana, Westcastle International Academy is a premier soccer development club in the Lower Island Soccer Association (LISA) District based in Victoria BC.
WIA was the first LISA club to attain the Quality Soccer Licence from Canada Soccer and is currently in the last stages of attaining the highest level of youth club licencing from Canada Soccer, the National Youth Club Licence.
WIA is designed to develop talented youth soccer players and aid them in reaching their full potential
- We desire to be the best
- We think offensively
- We play creatively
- We dominate
- We help talent flourish
- We demonstrate leadership
- We teach sportsmanship and respect for our opponents
WHAT WE DO:
WIA’s main goal is to create and deliver opportunities for players on Vancouver Island to participate in the Canada Soccer Player Development Program (PDP), which aligns with the Canada Soccer Player Pathway.
The WIA player pathway begins with a program for new and emerging players in the Discovery Centre (U3-U11), followed by the Skill Centre (U8-U12), the PRE-PDP (U13), and the Competitive Pathway (U14-U17) culminating in a high-performance pathway with a Pre-Collegiate Residency program & adult teams at U23 that compete in the VISL and Pacific Coast Soccer League.
The guiding principles of WIA’s Technical Plan are based on the guidelines set by Canada Soccer LTPD. The LTPD is a player-centred program designed to optimize the chances for player success by tailoring training, competition and coaching to their needs at the appropriate stage of development. This aligns the children’s age with the appropriately defined soccer skills in a caring community of parents, coaches, and officials. The major underlying criteria for LTPD is a fun and accommodating soccer learning environment.
THE WIA WAY:
Westcastle International Academy is a possession, pressing, positional play, and attacking football club. WIA strives to play attractive, build-up play, free-flowing football while demonstrating technique and tactical awareness in a highly disciplined manner. We are methodical in our coaching, giving structure to our players at a time when their cognitive development of the game is an essential part of learning how to play.
HOW WE DO IT:
Each youth team has a professional coach. Technical Director, Eddie Mukahanana, mentors all coaches to understand the WIA Way.
At WIA, our coaches must be able to understand and work with children. Our coaches work with the players to problem solve creatively, teaching them the secret of football and encouraging them to be brave. All WIA coaches watch each other’s teams to understand better the development of players and teams in the club.
WIA recruits and trains coaches in-house starting in Discovery Centres. WIA also has highly qualified and certified paid Technical Staff who train and develop players in the Skill Centre, PDP, Competitive and HP pathways seeking to advance through the Canada Soccer Player Pathway.
LONG-TERM STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE:
WIA’s long-term strategic objective is to produce a consistent stream of talented players who can go on to achieve success in the game at higher levels of competition. Players who can play in the BCSPL, BC Soccer Provincial programs, Whitecaps MLS Academy, B.C. League 1, Canada National teams or who can play at a collegiate level, while obtaining a university education.
WIA’s long-term strategic plan is to operate a full-service high-performance development club from Skill Centre, BCSPL and a BC League 1 franchise.
WIA is a full member of the Lower Island Youth Soccer Association, BC Soccer Association, and Pacific Coast Soccer League and holds a Canada Soccer Club License.
It is a unique and truly exciting opportunity for our youth players to experience top level training in standards based programs from Skill Centre to BCSPL and finally College. Players get the benefit of working with Canada Soccer & UEFA licensed coaches, and the opportunity to play appropriate level of competitive league matches, domestic and international tournaments, or festivals in beautiful British Columbia.” –Eddie Mukahanana, Technical Director
