麻豆社区

Canadian soccer 麻豆社区Dwayne De Rosario paid a visit to the territory over the weekend to lead practice sessions for the Yukon鈥檚 soccer players at the Canada Games Centre.

De Rosario came to prominence in the 2000s during his Major League Soccer (MLS) career.

He played for the San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, his hometown team Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls and D.C. United.

In 2014, De Rosario returned to Toronto FC. He is a four-time MLS Cup champion and in 2011, he was named MLS Most Valuable Player. He is the seventh-leading scorer in MLS history with 104 goals.

Internationally, he has represented the Canadian national team from 1998 to 2015 and is their leading all-time scorer with 22 goals in 81 games.

De Rosario is a 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup champion and four-time Canadian Player of the year.

De Rosario retired after the 2014 season but returned to the game in 2018, joining the Mississauga MetroStars of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL).

When De Rosario spoke to the Star Saturday, he said he hadn鈥檛 gotten to explore much of Whitehorse yet, but he did have a good first impression.

鈥淚 got here late last night so haven鈥檛 seen much of the city but from what I鈥檝e seen it seems like a nice small town,鈥� said De Rosario. 鈥淏ut most importantly it鈥檚 nice to work with the young kids today, there is some nice young talent, and seeing what talent is here in Yukon especially at the grassroots level.

鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to explore Canada a little bit more and when I had the opportunity to come to Yukon I couldn鈥檛 turn that down.鈥�

Although he hadn鈥檛 gotten out to see the city when he spoke to the Star, organizers brought the culture to him.

The junior can-can dancers put on a wonderful performance and so did the Kwanlin D眉n song and dance group who got De Rosario up and dancing.

鈥淚t was nice to see some of the First Nation community greet us this morning with some early morning exercise, slash, cultural dance. I burned my thighs a little bit.

鈥淚t was good to expose not only myself but the community to that. To be out here and see what Yukon is all about it鈥檚 been a good first day.

鈥淚t was fun but it was a lot of work, burned my thighs. I appreciate what they鈥檝e done for Canada in terms of culture.鈥�

He had a packed schedule full of training sessions for the kids. De Rosario said he was working on the fundamentals of soccer.

鈥�(We鈥檝e done) touch technique,鈥� said De Rosario. 鈥淲e ran 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, 3 vs. 2 and some ball mastery stuff, just working with a lot of their footwork, agility and game awareness.

鈥淭he basics. Repetition and basics, fundamentals is very important especially at the grassroots level. The more reps they do and the more comfortable they get with the ball at their feet the better off their development.鈥�

De Rosario said he came to the Yukon with no expectation but was happy with the talent level of the players.

鈥淚 was pleasantly impressed,鈥� said De Rosario. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 come here with any expectations. I just came to work with the kids and see where they鈥檙e at, what level.

鈥淥bviously Yukon is a territory that might feel overlooked in the sense of access and availability to professional or national team programs.

鈥淗opefully, with Vancouver and the Whitecaps program being so close, they are looking at the development here in the Yukon. All it takes is one to make it and to make a name for it and open the doors for the other kids.

鈥淭here is obviously a lot of talent here. It鈥檚 about developing and nurturing that talent to make sure they get the proper pathway.鈥�

The Yukon does have players currently playing in the Whitecaps system.

To see the level of passion for the sport in the Yukon, made De Rosario excited.

鈥淚t鈥檚 refreshing, really,鈥� said De Rosario. 鈥淭here are places outside of Ontario that don鈥檛 take full advantage of professional players like myself. Toronto is very fortunate because there are a lot of us, there are a lot of guys with great careers.

鈥淲e are there. There are still programs that don鈥檛 utilize us as much as possible. To have the opportunity to come to Yukon and see what you guys are doing here, it鈥檚 refreshing and it鈥檚 good. I think soccer is in a good place right now.鈥�

In 2026, Canada, along with Mexico and the U.S. will host the FIFA World Cup. De

Rosario said it鈥檚 important for Canada to have a good showing as host and as competitors.

鈥淎s an ambassador for 2026 it鈥檚 my job to help push those initiatives,鈥� said De Rosario.

鈥淔or me, coming out, I came here independently, is me trying to help grow the game and awareness of the sport.鈥�

During the middle of the day Saturday, there was a meet and greet with De Rosario.

Kids lined up in the CGC Flexihall to meet De Rosario, who signed autographs and took photos with the future generation of players.