LAC LA BICHE - With the Portage College futsal season set to begin in January, the race is on to find a new coach.
Futsal is a fast-paced game of five-aside soccer played on a basketball court.
The coaching position for the Portage College futsal teams has been vacant since September. Kika Mukuninwa and Glenda Bouvier, who shared coaching responsibilities not only for the Voyageurs men’s and women’s soccer squads but also the futsal teams, were dismissed from their duties in September.
Jim Knight, manager of athletics and recreation for Portage College, said as part of the process of hiring a coach, the college has the position posted and staff have been receiving resumes.
“We have struck an interview committee who will be going through the resumes later this week with interviews happening next week,” Knight told Lakeland This Week.
Despite not having a coach at the moment, the teams have started practicing for the relatively short season (from Jan. – mid March) and will continue to do so until the end of the month. They will start up again in the new year to get ready for the two North Regionals, which take place from Jan. 19-21 and Feb. 2-4.
Knight said Portage College hosted a regional in 2021 that saw only two other schools attending. Last year, a regional tournament held in Lac La Biche draw all of the schools in the north division.
“These two regionals we are hosting this year will see a men’s and women’s team from Keyano College in Fort McMurray, Northwest Polytechnic from Grande Prairie, NAIT & King’s University from Edmonton and Lakeland College from Lloydminster,” Knight explained.
Portage College is also hosting the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference Championship from March 8-10. According to Knight, this tournament will see the top three teams from the North Division Regional advancing and being joined by the top three teams from the South Division, which includes Olds, Prairie College, Ambrose University, SAIT, Lethbridge College, and Medicine Hat College.
