After three games in nine days and history made in the Canadian Championship, a dip in Alouette Lake is the perfect recovery both mentally and physically.
Last week, we beat the reigning Canadian Premier League (CPL) champions Cavalry 5-4 on penalties after drawing 2-2 on aggregate, to progress to the club鈥檚 first-ever semifinal in the prestigious competition.
For all of our Vancouver FC squad, it felt like the huge work we have been putting in these past few months paid off with that huge result. Yes we have even more in us, in the next round and for the rest of the season, but it was a very good feeling in that moment.
After soaking up the victory in the locker room, we went straight back to the hotel to have dinner and celebrate 鈥� but not too much as we had a quick turnaround to our next game and an early morning flight to catch.
Which was pretty much the story of those nine days. We were away to Forge FC in Hamilton on the previous Saturday night. So we flew there, played, and flew back the next day. Then we had not even a full day off and flew to Calgary on the Tuesday. Played on the Wednesday, flew home, and then played them again in the league on Sunday at Willoughby Community Park.
So, typically with a schedule like that, we would train the day before the game, and then right after the session we shower and eat and then go straight to the airport. There鈥檚 always some competitive card games and Uno on the go there but from when we land it鈥檚 a lot of chill downtime.
In the morning we go for a walk, eat breakfast, and then head into our pre-game meetings and arrive at the stadium pretty early.
That鈥檚 one of the great things about our away days, we are together most of the time, so it builds a strong chemistry in the group where we get a better understanding of each other on the field but also off it. We have a lot of fun, but it is still a hectic schedule.
The time we get off and to ourselves is spent mostly resting and eating, as that鈥檚 the optimal recovery in such a short span of time with so many games. Because the next day we have to go again.
We actually had Monday and Tuesday off this week, which is good for the entire squad including the coaches, just to get our minds off the sport for a little while and have a bit of a reset after the highs of last week, but all that travel too.
I live in the Cottonwood neighbourhood of Maple Ridge with my family so I鈥檒l often go for a walk around there to loosen out my body, or head to Alouette Lake for a swim. I live really close to Alouette River, and sometimes head to Whonnock Lake, or Rolley Lake. It鈥檚 great to have all of them around me and the water and setting is perfect on weeks like these. It feels really good on the legs, to cool down after a long day of training or ahead of one.
The last three years I鈥檝e been playing with the club, there鈥檚 been lots of experience shared in the locker room and from the coaching staff, so for me both on and off the field I鈥檝e been constantly learning. In busy weeks like this that鈥檚 even more important and it鈥檚 a massive part of our club culture to develop the young players and guide us through.
So that鈥檚 how to eat, how to recover, and how to spend days off. They鈥檙e not staying up super late, and then on the training field they are going one hundred per cent. So I am trying to put all of that into my own life and my own game and use it all to hopefully get to the next level.
Going on the road again to York United this Saturday we鈥檙e optimistic we can take the energy from last week into this game.
My message to the fans is we are on the up. We have a huge semifinal coming on Aug. 13 in 黑马磁力, where we aim to become the first-ever CPL team to contest the final.
Every one of us players wants the best for the club and fans and hopefully in Toronto we can get a result and keep pushing our momentum forward. We feel your support every week and hopefully through this weekly column we can give more of an insight into life behind the scenes at Vancouver FC.
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鈥� Taryck Jordan Tahid, 18, is a Maple Ridge local playing midfield for Vancouver FC, who will be writing a weekly column through to the end of the season. In 2023 he became the youngest player to sign and appear in a CPL match at 16, and then the youngest goal-scorer in league history. He played for Canada in the U17 World Cup, and has since represented Ghana in the U20 African Cup of Nations.
