Pellerud Wins Inaugural Coaching Award

Ottawa, Ontario – The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) announced today that Canada’s Women’s World Cup Team coach, Even Pellerud, is the inaugural recipient of the Vector “Performance of the Year” Award in recognition of his team being selected as the most inspirational sports story of the year.



At the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup which concluded earlier this month in the United States, Canada finished a surprising fourth advancing to the bronze medal game which it lost to the U.S., the defending champions. The Canadians, the second youngest team in the tournament, were seeded 12th.



They became the first Canadian team to win a World Cup game and the first to reach the playoffs with a 2-1 record in round robin play. They upset China 1-0 in the quarter-finals before a tough loss to Sweden in the semi-finals which cost them a shot at gold.



Pellerud, named head coach of the women’s team after Canada finished 12th at the 1999 World Cup, is excited about the future. He is confident the team can remain united and challenge for a medal at the 2004 Olympics and be a gold medal favourite at the next World Cup in 2007.



“There is a lot of potential, a lot of power, a lot of athleticism, a lot of skill,” said Pellerud. Some of the team’s brightest young stars include Christine Sinclair, 20, Kara Lang, 16, and Christine Latham, 22.



“It was a little disappointing, that’s for sure,” said Lang, about the fourth place finish. “But we fought our hardest. This was the most amazing experience I ever had. It gave me an idea of what we can accomplish.’”



CAC is a not-for-profit amateur sport organization with the mandate to improve the effectiveness of coaching across all sports and at all levels of the sport system.