Manitoba Blizzard celebrates
its graduating players
By Scott Taylor and Trevor Kidd, Photos courtesy Manitoba Blizzard
Back on Feb. 3, at the University of
Manitoba, head coach Jim Zinko and
manager Trevor Kidd celebrated the
2016 graduating class of Manitoba
Blizzard soccer players.
In fact, on that day, 13 Manitoba
Blizzard alumnae, all of whom will be
graduating high school this spring,
signed official Letters of Intent to
attend universities in both Canada
and the United States
“As a result of their efforts on the
field and in the classroom, these
young women have garnered the
attention of university and college
coaches from across Canada and
the US,” said head coach Jim Zinko
in a written statement. “This is a
great next step for all the girls as
they begin to make their marks on
the world. Everyone who has been
involved in their journey to this point
is so proud of their accomplishments
and we can’t wait to see what great
things still await them.”
The Manitoba Blizzard is a
university preparatory soccer
program for girls. Its mission is to
provide young women and their
parents with a structured process
that gives them access to the
information and experts necessary
to help them achieve their goals
through soccer. This is the third
graduating class for the program.
The first two classes included a total
of 23 players who went on to play
university soccer.
“We started our soccer program for
teams at the U-16 and U-17 level,”
Kidd and Zinko explained. “We
take the best provincial players at
their age group to play at university
showcases across North America.”
Kidd is a former National Hockey
League goaltender who, along with
Zinko, started the Manitoba Blizzard
elite girls soccer program. It’s
Jenna Zappia
12 / sportslife
certainly worked well for Kidd and a
number of other Manitoba families.
Kidd’s eldest daughter Taylor, 22, is
playing at the University of Texas-El
Paso. His middle daughter, Kennedy,
18, is at the University of North
Dakota and his youngest daughter,
Emerson, 14, plays with the Blizzard
and has already been contacted by a
few U.S. university coaches.
“I’ve had three girls move through
this program and one is currently
participating,” said manager
Trevor Kidd. “The program wants
to celebrate the 2016 graduating
class, and on Feb. 3, this will be a
celebration of their achievement
with family, friends and coaches in
attendance. We would like to think
this is a very exciting day for our
soccer community, amateur sport,
and for many youngsters looking for
role models in the sport that they
play.” l