The coach of Cape Breton University’s women’s soccer team has been filling the role since the team was established 31 years ago. “This program doesn’t exist without him,” said senior year player Paige Allaby. After the many seasons and fourteen Atlantic University Sport championships, Stephen “Ness” Timmons told his players on Tuesday he will retire at the end of this season. “Well, it’s just time,” Timmons, 68, said. “I’ve been at it a long time and it’s time for somebody else to take it over.” Timmons built the program from the bottom up, starting in 1996. “I’m sure some people only came to CBU back in the day because I told them where CBU was and what it was all about,” Timmons said with a laugh, recalling the early days. “But when we go across the country now, everybody - especially in the soccer circles - has heard of Cape Breton University.” While the soccer pitch at CBU is named for Timmons, his crowning moment as a coach - the best of many – did not happen there. Instead, it took place on a cold Remembrance Day in 2007 in his home community of New Waterford, N.S. That was the day the CBU Capers hosted and won their lone national title at Veterans Memorial Field. “That was a setup with a lot of backstories to it, but to win the first national championship for the school - you have to remember that,” Timmons said. His players said finding out that their coach is calling it a career was bittersweet. “It’s not just how good a soccer player you are - he really cares about you as a person,” said another senior year player, Grace Hannaford. “Both my parents are in the military, so I have actually lived all over Canada, and I felt like Ness actually made Cape Breton feel like home. I never really felt like I had a home.” “He’s definitely special,” Allaby added. “He’s a very unique character. I’ve never met anyone like him - in the best possible way.” Timmons said he won’t be going too far away in retirement. He plans to be in the stands cheering the girls on. “I’ll miss the competitive drive that the girls bring - to compete on the field,” Timmons said. “I mean, that’s what it’s about.” That’s why he is hoping to add one more banner to the many on the wall at Ness Timmons Field - to cap an eventful career. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
