SPORTS on the WEST SHORE
by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
A new professional sports team has burst onto the Langford scene. On Monday, August 20 at City Centre Park next to Westhills Stadium it was mid-summer warm with slightly smoky skies, as the recently formed Pacific Football Club (Pacific FC) announced their new coach.
New Pacific FC coach Michael Silberbauer was introduced at the podium, welcomed by the west shore sport community, and dozens of young soccer players and their parents about 150 people in all. Langford Mayor Stew Young and council attended.
“Thank you for coming out here,” said Young. “What Josh and Rob have been able to accomplish in such a short time -– and to have Mike standing here in Langford -– this is the talent that you have here that we wouldn’t have expected. You guys have done great,” the Mayor told the crowd.” It’s a great opportunity for soccer and for the island,” said Young.
Pacific FC president Josh Simpson is back on the island after touring as a pro soccer player in Europe. “The island is a football island, this is a football city, Langford is football. They just don’t know it yet,” said the upbeat Simpson to a supportive crowd.
New Pacific FC coach Michael Silberbauer of Denmark has “the technical foundation to support the growth of the game in this region as well as the country, with international experience and a global perspective, and is passionate to grow the game locally in the community,” said Friend. “I’m very excited to be here,” said Silberbauer.
It was evident right away how infectious his coaching style will be, captivating the audience with a true story of finding unconventional solutions, and how the Pacific FC team will work with the community and give back.
Silberbauer’s lilting storytelling style won over the crowd, but with punch: “Mentality beats talent. It’s not the best players who make it, it’s those who set their mind to it and work the hardest,” said Silberbauer as part of explaining how he will build the first Pacific FC team. The team will be “built on the values of the islanders. When the fans get into the stadium they know exactly what they can expect.”
Langford Mayor Stew Young and council attended in support, including Councillor Matt Sahlstrom who had made of the initial connections with now the local Pacific FC leadership, and Councillors Lanny Seaton (who chairs the city’s Parks and Recreation committee), Lillian Szpak, Denise Blackwell and Winnie Sifert.
“Thank you for coming out here,” said Langford Mayor Stew Young. “What Josh and Rob have been able to accomplish in such a short time -– and to have Mike standing here in Langford, this is the talent that you have here that we wouldn’t have expected. You guys have done great,” the Mayor told the crowd.
“I like what they’re saying -– being solution-oriented, getting things moving, let’s get things done. And you’re bringing the partnerships in the community together. We’ve heard the talk, you guys have delivered. Thank you from the citizens of Langford and council. It’s a great opportunity for soccer for the island,” said Young.
“We had approached the City, and right away Stew Young, Darren Kiedyk (CAO) and Cory Manton (Manager, Parks & Recreation) wanted to do something,” said Josh Simpson, president, Pacific FC. Simpson is back on the island after touring as a pro soccer player in Europe for several years. He went to Belmont Secondary in Langford years ago, and now he’s back from Switzerland with his wife and three young children (ages 7, 5 and 3) to live in Oak Bay and build professional soccer on south Vancouver Island.
“The island is a football island, this is a football city, Langford is football. They just don’t know it yet,” said the upbeat Simpson to a supportive crowd. “We’re trying to coach the fans, coach the island, as to what it means to be a football club.”
Pacific FC CEO Rob Friend gave a big thank you to Langford’s mayor and council for their vision to continue building a sports presence in Langford, which is one of the fastest growing communities in BC (surpassed for growth rate only by Surrey in the Lower Mainland). Friend is excited about Langford’s current momentum to bring 2,000 more seats to the stands at Westhills Stadium, expanding a renovated seating area to 6,500 seats by next spring. Friend called Mayor Stew Young “the incredible power behind this project”.
In choosing from all the domestic and international candidates who applied to be the first Pacific FC coach, they found in 37-year-old Michael Silberbauer of Denmark “the technical foundation to support the growth of the game in this region as well as the country, with international experience and a global perspective, and passionate to grow the game locally in the community,” said Friend.
“Michael is a shooting star among the young up and coming talents in Europe,” said Simpson.
“I’m very excited to be here,” said Silberbauer at the podium. With a 20-year pro soccer career behind him, he arrived on the island last Friday to be ready for today’s event. It was evident right away how infectious his coaching style will be. He captivated the audience with a true story of finding solutions that may not be traditional, and that being part of the community means working with the community and giving something back as you move forward. His slow-speaking, weaving storytelling style won over the crowd.
They will start with local clubs, and see what they’re doing on the technical level, said Friend. Some foreign players will be coming into the club. “Michael’s passionate about developing the game here in Canada. Want a combo of local and international players, and develop local coaches. We’ll be working with Island Wave local clubs.”
The new coach – what does he like? “I like action, that something’s happening when you’re sitting in the stands,” said Silberbauer. But he’ll set up the right players for it. “I’m not asking for something that someone can’t do.”
“We’re going to play an honest kind of football, we’re going to be robust,” Silberbauer said.” We have a lot of hardworking young players. That will be our energy, our fuel. The most important thing is building that relationship with the community and with the players. We’re off to a good start. I see potential here, it’s massive. You have an opportunity right here in your backyard to produce professional football players. You have a right to dream about being professional players.”
After the formal announcement, Silberbauer told West Shore Voice News that coming to Canada and to Langford on the west shore is a new challenge. “I had a good feeling first hearing about it, and now an even better feeling being here,” said the new coach. He wants to give kids a chance in the sport. He’ll be looking for their “energy and willingness to learn –- those things are very important to me”.
The new coach wants to get some flexibility into dynamics on the field. “Plans for the stadium look good. I want to get that energy from the stands back to the field,” he said. Silberbauer and his wife and young child (age 20 months) will arrive in Langford in January 2019. “I’ve been away from Denmark for 10 years now. Moving to Canada feels like a new challenge. “When this presented itself I had a good feeling about it, and when I came here I had an even better feeling about it.”
What the upbeat coach is looking for in his young players is the best mix of mentality and attitude, energy, and working as a team. “I want some energy, we want some dynamic players. The most important thing is building that relationship with everybody. I’m a true believer in hard work and then we’ll take it from there. If you get the team spirit right, we’ll do better than most,” said Silberbauer.
“To have the opportunity to work alongside club owner Dean Shillington, Josh Simpson and Rob Friend in building a football club from the ground up is unique. It’s something you take very seriously. We want to get it right and move in the right direction all the time at the right tempo. We want to make sure we get it right,” said Silberbauer.
Capped 25 times for Denmark, Silberbauer also featured at the club level for Danish outfits AaB Fodbold and FC Copenhagen, Dutch club FC Utrecht, and Switzerland’s BSC Young Boys, while also spending time on loan at Danish side Odense Boldklub are all qualifications that made him a first-choice candidate.
“Michael has Danish national team experience playing in the European Championship, Champions League experiences playing, and now coaching four years in one of the top leagues in Europe,” said Rob Friend, CEO Pacific FC. “That sort of experience, to us, was exactly what we were looking for to bring to Canada, to bring a different flavour, and also for young coaches to develop under.”
Until Silberbauer gets back in the new year, assistant coach James Merriman along with all the Pacific FC support will have a squad of 24 to 25 players ready for season opening in April 2019, said Simpson. The coach will stay in full communication over the fall months, as the players get to know themselves and leadership gets to know the players and their skills.
“We will be aligned on what we’re after when it comes to club philosophy and values. There is a lot of good rapport among the four of us,” said Simpson.
Merriman was at today’s announcement but will be guiding team development starting this fall, as things get rolling. Merriman is a Canadian coach who last worked as the head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps Under-15 Residency team and previously as assistant coach of the Simon Fraser University men’s soccer NCAA Division II program in 2012 and 2013. He was the assistant coach at Vancouver Island University from 2009 to 2011.
“James Merriman understands the Canadian game and the local, regional market here,” said Simpson. “He’s got a great network of young players that he’s coached. He understands the Canadian mentality, the Canadian game, and he’s got a great network, so it really balances out.”
Pacific FC is now taking membership deposits for priority access to preferred seating for home games. A $50 deposit reserves a spot in line for up to eight seats. Visit www.PacificFootball.Club for more information.
A shorter version of this article was published in the August 24, 2018 print/PDF edition of West Shore Voice News