Acknowledging our Members

Gerardo Sosa's love for soccer started as a youth in El Salvador. There was no structured club league like what we have with CMSA, and teams were assembled with individual coaches that put together a group of kids who wanted to play. From when he started with these official teams at age 7, Gerardo's passion for soccer started to grow.  El Salvador's premier youth Soccer league was operated between High schools, where schools would play against each other at a national level. Gerardo was part of his respective school team for 6 years, and ended his tenure  ending with a National Championship as a Senior. Gerardo was invited to practice with the premier 1st division team, but his priority to pursue a university degree in Medicine and then Anesthesiology took precedence.

In 2014 Gerardo and his family moved to Canada. He was so pleased to find structure in Canadian minor soccer; something that didn't exist back home. Gerardo registered his daughter with the Westhill’s United club (WHU) and so began his long tenure with the club. Gerardo started as a volunteer coach, followed by coordinating and improving the Grassroots and other programs from 2016-2019.  He continued to coach his daughter's team to capture the Gold Provincial medal at the tier 2 level. He also won Provincials with the U17B WHU Athletics tier 2 team.

In 2019, Gerardo became the WHU Technical Director, and continued to build additional programs with WHU. Some of these initiatives included building the House League that encompassed 6 communities and up to 33 teams, and then additional programs such as the Youth-Coach Mentoring program, build the soccer community including a pathway to develop youth coaches and referees to gain experience through the WHU House League. Gerardo always saw the value in fostering young soccer players to contribute to building a stronger soccer community. 

Gerardo has continually pursued his own professional development through the multitude of licensing levels for Grassroots programs and will next complete all relevant minor licensing. He has attained a B License coaching credential, and has also completed various certifications with the England Premier League & the USA Soccer Association.

The Calgary minor soccer scene continues to flourish with a sense of strong community with Gerardo's dedication.  "I'm living my dream! Soccer is my passion!" Gerardo remarks. He treasures the "brothers of life" he has gained through is journey and strives to help every soccer player he works with to become the best person they can be through soccer.

His WHU colleague, Chantelle, summed Gerardo impact beautifully; "Gerardo has a unique way of making every player and family feel important to the club and the sport, no matter their age or ability. He is creative in developing new programs to keep players engaged...for life!"