Palavecino, Arellano staying connected to the beautiful game through coaching
It wasn't the perfect ending for the Holy Trinity Catholic High School Knights Soccer team this season, however the journey is one worth remembering and embracing for the future ahead.
That's the message Head Coach Blanca Palavecino and Assistant Coach Hafid Arellano shared in a team huddle at one end of TC Park Thursday at the conclusion of the high school soccer season following a loss to the McTavish Marauders in the championship game.
Palavecino and Arellano, with four Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference Championships and thousands of minutes of game time for the Keyano Huskies between them, embraced their love of the beautiful game to guide the Knights this season.
"After playing my last games of ACAC last year, I found it really hard to let go of soccer," Palavecino said. "This was my way of giving back of everything I learned throughout my Keyano College experience."
Palavecino's time in Fort McMurray started in the 2017-18 academic year. In a post-secondary career lengthened by the COVID-19 pandemic, she appeared in 48 games, including 39 starts, and capped off her collegiate career in 2022-23 with a Women's Futsal Championship on the home court last March. She's remainded in the region post-graduation to teach Grade 7 English and Social at Holy Trinity.
Arellano has just finished his second season with the Huskies, but he's already been a core piece to the Men's Soccer/Futsal Huskies winning three-straight ACAC Championships and returning to Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national championships this past November.
"It was a beautiful experience to be with them, to train with them, to try and pass the knowledge and I'm happy for them," he said. "The main thing I tried to pass along to them is to just keep fighting.
"If things are really hard in the game, to just keep fighting. Practically all the knowledge that I learned there from the coaches I apply here."
Their work in the present of today is also set to yield success for the next generation of McMurrayite footie players. That includes Norah Horsley, who officially committed to play for the Women's Soccer Huskies back in April.
"They're really great coaches," the future Huskie said. "They definitely bring the family part of it; really made sure everyone's friends. They bring good skill too."
Through her extra-curricular efforts with the Huskies, Palavecino and Horsley aren't strangers either. The former coached the latter in her Fury days at the youth soccer level.
"I go back with Norah when she was little Fury and especially my first year at Keyano College," Palavecino continued. "It's really an honour to watch her grow and finish her year off.
"We played similar positions so I'm excited to see her play [for the Huskies] next year."
Palavecino and Arellano also bring a dash of hope from what they've accomplished on the pitch, helping to be a part of Huskies turnaround that took them from teams well out of contention for the medals to the top of the podium.
Even if they didn't get there this time, they're still making advancements in elevating the local game.
"It just adds some legitimacy to the program to have those athletes as the coaches," Holy Trinity Catholic High School Vice Principal Kevin Garbuio said. "It's the professionalism; the stuff they bring to the athletes and the experiences.
"We see why we have so many athletes now talking about going to Keyano. They just transplant the culture they're building at Keyano and bring it to our school and we're super happy for it to be around us."
They may not have won this time around, but the belief they're passing along to student-athletes of the future is just as important in Palavecino's mind.
"That's a big thing Hafid and I believe in; whatever you believe in if it's yourself you can get whatever you want. Everything is possible."