Lethbridge Polytechnic's soccer coach is retiring after more than a decade.
Vulcan-area resident, Sean Carey, first moved to Canada from England in 2001, where he and his wife settled in Camrose
Carey had previously played soccer when he was living in England, and when they moved to Camrose, he started chatting with the president of the soccer association there.
"And he just asked me if I wanted to Ref, and I said, 'Nope'," explained Carey. "And then he asked me if I'd like to coach, and I said, 'You know what, Yeah, I'll give that a try.'"
He started off coaching a U14 Girls team in Camrose, and he stayed coaching there for five years until the girls graduated from High School.
After that, he and his wife moved to Vulcan, which is where his wife and family are from.
"And then from there, I saw an article that they were looking for a coach at Lethbridge College [now Lethbridge Polytechnic], and I applied and got the job."
He began his coaching career at Lethbridge Polytechnic in 2009, when it was still called Lethbridge College, as the coach for the women's team.
But, due to him not jiving well with the new athletic director they hired, Carey left the position in 2011.
He then went back as an assistant coach for the women's team in 2014, and in 2017, he took over both the men's and women's programs and coached both teams.
Not only has Carey been coaching soccer in Lethbridge for over a decade, but he has also won the most soccer games in the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks' history, with 91 regular season wins and 37 futsal regular games.
In fact, when Carey took over the women's soccer program in 2009, they hadn't won a single game in three years and hadn't even scored a goal in two years.
Carey's first year as their coach, he made some changes to make the team's defence stronger, and they ended up winning two games that first year.
In his second year as coach, they narrowly missed the playoffs, and since 2018, they haven't missed the championships.
On top of that, Carey has won 6 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Awards, four for his work as the women's coach and two for his role as coach for the men's team.
"My first one was in 2010 because I turned the girl's program around at the College," Carey says. "2018, I got both the men's and women's, so I was the first coach ever to get the men's and women's in one season."
He repeated that feat in 2019.
He was also awarded the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Coach of the Year award in 2019, which was the year he went to nationals with the men's team.
While he was the one who received these awards, Carey says he has a phenomenal coaching crew.
"And they're as much a part of these awards as I am, I just happen to be that front person. My assistant coaches, I couldn't do the job without them. The accolade goes to them as well."
Carey says his greatest achievement as a soccer coach was when he brought the men's team to nationals.
"I mean, we have some phenomenal schools here is Alberta," Carey says. "I think to be able to take a group of committed young men to win the Alberta championships and then from there go to Toronto to National Championships and just see what that is all about. That was the highlight for me for the guy's side."
For the women's side, the team hadn't won a medal in over 20 years, and in 2019 they won their first-ever regular season title.
Carey had also coached at the University of Lethbridge for two years.
Now, though, Carey has decided to retire from coaching at Lethbridge Polytechnic, because he is tired.
"Living in Vulcan, commuting, I spend all my fall down in Lethbridge, and I can't give the teams what they want anymore. Like, I can't give them the 100 per cent. I expect 100 per cent from my players, and if I can't give it back as a coach, then that's just not far to them."
The incoming head coach, Mike Racz, has expressed his admiration for Carey and what he has accomplished.
"He has set the foundation for continued success and has made the Kodiaks soccer program a consistent contender for the ACAC Championships. It’s also been amazing to see the resources now available to athletics and how much our athletic department has strengthened the Kodiaks name within the polytechnic and the community," Racz stated in a media release.
He made the decision to leave back in November, and because they finished the futsal a couple of weeks ago, he is now officially retired from coaching.
Being a carpenter by trade, Carey is now going to focus on carpentry.