Finishing his third year as a member of the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat's soccer program, Yorkton's Brandon McCallum saw his 2013 season as both a success and a difficult season at the same time. Earning a consistent role at the centreback position McCallum had his most successful season on a personal level by earning his most minutes on the pitch at the college level to date, but the Heat missed the PAC West Playoffs on a tiebreaker to a team they lost in their first game of the season after dropping points in three of their final four matches.
Still looking back on 2013, McCallum was pleased overall on how the season went despite the sting of missing out on the playoffs for the second straight season before the Heat move into the CIS soccer ranks in 2014. "We missed the playoffs in 2012 and worked hard to make our goal to win a title this season and to miss out on the playoffs was a tough pill to swallow but it was a good learning experience for our team," says McCallum who added that the team did technically do just enough to make the playoffs which made it harder to take. "Missing out on a tiebreak result from our first game of the season made it worse.
You couldn't blame McCallum for feeling like his increase in playing time was a consolation prize for the growing experience of a tough end to the season. Working hard over the past two offseasons while in Yorkton to work on his speed and strength, McCallum hit a growth spurt while in university and has moved to the centreback position, a role McCallum didn't have much experience in from his youth playing days with the Yorkton United Football Club. "Playing centreback was entirely new to me when I came here, but for the past years coach has really helped me learn the position and along with some hard work in the offseason at getting stronger I felt confident in myself and it was good to get some starts this season."
At the end of 2013 the Heat finished over .500 with seven wins, six losses and six draws for a 7-6-6 record in all competitions. In the PAC West they finished 6-5-3 in their final season in the lower divisions of Canadian university soccer. A 4-2 home loss on the first day of the season to Vancouver Island eventually came to haunt them. Once out of the playoffs, the Heat also watched a team they beat represent BC at Nationals finish third. Next year McCallum says the team is planning on being equally competitive while making the jump to the CIS.
"We have a good coach who has a lot of connections with the Provincial Team program in BC and that has brought a lot of talented players into the team recently and moving to the CIS will likely mean even more talented recruits will want to come play here so it is going to continue to be even more competitive next year," says McCallum, who expects to continue to improve this summer by working in the gym and getting some touches in with the YUFC's mens team in Regina's mens league.
"Having a team to come to in the summer is a plus, especially last year having a mens league to play in once a week, but most of the improvement I make is in the gym during the season and in the offseason," adds McCallum who has grown in height and has added significant muscle to move into the defensive position from playing midfield and forward. He hopes that he can continue to grow as his university career draws to its final years.
Heading into season in the top flight of Canadian soccer if exciting for McCallum, but he says that he was unaware of the move when he came to UBCO. "The school has kept growing and I lucked out on picking a great program," says McCallum who hopes to continue to be a prominent fixture on the team sheet when the team joins the CIS next year.
"I just hope that I can keep working hard and earn a roster spot and some starts again with the Starting XI next season," closes McCallum. "We are planning on having a solid team with an influx of talented players coming in so am already preparing in the gym for 2014."
