Calgary Wild FC visit school of former player, reveal new look

Students from Sundance School during Wild FC visit. KAIDEN BRAYSHAW/LIVEWIRE CALGARY

In a two-fold celebration, members of the Calgary Wild FC went back to the former stomping grounds of one of their own.

Early Tuesday morning, members of the Calgary Wild FC visited Sundance school, the elementary school of forward Mya Jones, to reveal their new third kits and celebrate the school’s activity day.

Ayla, a student at Sundance who is finishing fourth grade, said that having the players come to her school was very special.

“It’s amazing, because we get to meet the players and say hi,” she said.

Just as special, Jones said, was coming back as a professional athlete.

“Our fans and our fan base, a majority of that is the children in the community and it’s really special that I can do this at where I began my elementary school and my schooling,” she said, adding that she went to Sundance for Kindergarten through Grade 5.

“Our whole mantra as a club is to be inspiring the next generation. Being able to come do this in front of these children today is really important for us.”

When asked about the new kits, Jones called them a cool design that plays off of the team’s mascot, Echo.

On top of their appearance at activity day, the Wild players announced that all Sundance School students will be given tickets to this weekend’s game against the Halifax Tides.

Mutual excitement from school and players

Melanie Tindall, the principal of Sundance School, said that the Wild FC first reached out for a potential visit a few weeks ago.

“We are so excited to have Mya come back to Sundance School today. When we received a message that she would like to come in and see Sundance again, it happened to work out perfectly,” she said of the visit.

“When you get these opportunities, we absolutely want to have them right away. If (the visit) wasn’t going to be today, it would definitely be another day before school ended.”

Tindall said that positive role models are very important. Having one who went to your school and is now playing professional soccer in your city is even better for students.

With the World Cup of Soccer and Jones’ visit, many faculty, staff and students have been going soccer-crazy all month, according to Tindall.

Among a crowd of excited students and teachers, Jones got to re-connect with Lucille Bouchard, a retired school teacher who now does substitute teaching with the school.

Bouchard, who was Jones’ Kindergarten teacher some 20 years ago, said that having someone that she taught who is thriving in their career come back to the school was pretty cool.

“It’s fantastic that kids get to see that if they have a dream they can actually strive for it and accomplish it,” she said.

Kaiden Brayshaw, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, LiveWire Calgary