Carla Chin Baker

Carla Chin Baker... soccer family (Erin Baker)... both her mother Norma and her father Carl were born in Kingston, JAM... she was four years old when her family moved from Kingston, JAM to Scarborough, ON, CAN... she grew up participating in soccer, hockey, track, basketball, volleyball... she earned a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University in 1990...

a one-time runner up at Canada Soccer’s National Championships (1987)... a two-time Canada Soccer Women’s All-Star Championship winner (1986, 1987)... a three-time Ontario Cup provincial championship winner (1986, 1989, 1990)... a one-time runner up at the CIAU Soccer Championship (1987)... a one-time CIAU First All-Canadian Team (1989)...

one of six original members of Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team in 1986 that also participated in Canada’s first FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1995 (Annie Caron, Carla Chin, Geri Donnelly, Charmaine Hooper, Michelle Ring and Cathy Ross)...

wrote Sylvie Béliveau in 1995, “she communicates well and serves as a great leader for the outfield players; her decision making with regards to distribution is very good; she was generally consistent throughout her preparation games and the FIFA World Championship”...

CAREER OVERVIEW:

FIFA Women’s World Cup with Canada at Sweden 1995... FIFA Women’s International Tournament in 1988 followed by silver medals at two Concacaf Championships (1991 and 1994)... an original member of Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team in 1986... career 29 international “A” appearances from 1986 to 1997, ranked first all time amongst Canadian goalkeepers when she left international football... two-time runner up at Canada Soccer’s National Championships with Oakville SC... two-time winner with Ontario Selects at Canada Soccer’s Women’s All-Star Championship... three-time Ontario Cup winner... runner up at CIAU Soccer Championship (1987)... CIAU First All-Canadian Team (1989)... honoured member of the McMaster University Athletics Hall of Fame.

CANADA SOCCER HALL of FAME:

I am honoured and humbled to be inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame with the Class of 2021, my fellow teammates, Sue Brand, Annie Caron, Janet Lemieux, Luce Mongrain, Suzanne Muir, Cathy Ross and Sue Simon.

I would like to thank my parents, family, Rosemarie Sears, Charmaine Hooper, Michele Houchen, Cathy Klein, Lisa Munro, Tracy Miernicki, Cathy Redshaw Briggs, Ontario Soccer teammates and my husband, Tom for their unconditional love, belief in my abilities and unwavering support in making my dream of playing for Canada a reality.

Many thanks to Scarborough United and Oakville Soccer Club for the foundation of my youth development, and SoccerPlus GK camps for elevating my performance by preparing me for the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup. I will be forever grateful to Chris Petrucelli, Bill Millar, the late Tony DiCicco, Dick Howard, the late Peter Bonetti, Lincoln Phillips, Kim Maslin Kammerdeiner, Dave Latourette, Matt Clark, Bill Steffen and Becky Burleigh for their leadership, guidance, training and encouragement as I refined my game at the international level.

To all my teammates, words cannot describe my gratitude for the positive memories of our travels, friendships that will last a lifetime, laughter that brought us to tears, and camaraderie during our soccer journey. I will always cherish the opportunity to represent Canada and play with so many talented women. Thank you, Canada Soccer, for this breathtaking honour.