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SK's Own Brett Levis Signs Pro Contract With the Vancouver White Caps
2015-03-19
I had a chance to speak with Brett on the phone from Vancouver and took the opportunity to ask him some questions of my own. -Jen
For Saskatoon's Brett Levis, it all started on the fields of Community Soccer. "I would have to go way back. I was part of the Saskatoon Youth Soccer Club and my Mom was actually the coach. The fondest memories I have was playing Club soccer, when I was probably 7 or 8 years old," he reminisced about the beginning of his love for the game. Levis won a provincial high school championship in 2010 with the Centennial Chargers and represented team Saskatchewan at the 2009 Canada Games.
Levis has certainly come a long way since those days, the twenty-one year old recently signed to the Whitecaps WFC2 roster, and he is settling into the routine of life in Vancouver. "It was definitely hard leaving my family, friends, and my girlfriend, especially this time around know[ing] that I am gone for 8 months, for the full thing. It is about overcoming struggles, continuing to become more independent and understanding that this is what I needed to do in order to become successful," he said, as we chatted about the challenges when your path to success is in front of you. "Once games start, I will have definitely have a ritual of what to do, to find the best situation that will set me up for the game. It's all sacrifice. If you really want to make it, you really have to sacrifice a lot." Brett is looking forward to the first Whitecaps regular season game on March 29th, 2015, which is also the midfielder's twenty-second birthday.
Levis was a large contributor to the success of the Huskies Men's Soccer team in his time with the University of Saskatchewan, posting 29 goals and recording 16 assists in 50 matches, and helped to capture the first Canada West Championship in the Program's history. In 2014, he led the Canada West Conference with nine goals and was named a CIS First Team All-Canadian. "It was an amazing team. I am going to miss them a lot. I have been with most of them through Sask. Soccer, coming up the ranks, and then into university. It was a developing team and we just built," said Levis about his Huskies team. "My first year, we didn't make play-offs, my second year, we made play-offs, my third year, we made play-offs and Nationals, [and] my fourth year, we won Can-West and made Nationals again, so it was definitely a progression. It was a full team effort and that is what it took to win Canada West. We never quit. Resilience [was a word] we used a lot throughout the year and we deserved it, and not only that we went out and took it, [but] we didn't let anything come to us. I really feel like that was a big moment for soccer in Saskatchewan", he lamented about the 2014 Can West Nationals experience.
Brett attributes much of his success to great coaching and support, "[Bryce Chapman] really helped me develop as a player and as a person. When you can be with somebody for that long, in terms of coaching, you become comfortable around them. We built a really good relationship, on and off the field. I can't say enough for what he has done for soccer in Saskatchewan and how much he has helped me." When asked about his greatest inspirations, "my family. My dad always supports me and follows what I am doing. My grandma is always worried about me. We always keep in touch and she is another inspiration of mine. My Mom was always my biggest inspiration. She passed away about seven and a half years ago now. She taught me a lot when I was younger, not only about soccer on the field, but how to be a good person. She taught me a lot of characteristics that I like to input upon myself. Most of the stuff I do, if not all of the stuff I do is not only for myself, [but] for her also."
How does Levis stay motivated? "It's just something inside me. That might sound a little bit cliché, but I never settle. I always want to be the best. I know my mom always wants me to be happy and for me I won't be happy until I achieve what I want to achieve. I signed my first pro contract, but it's not fully the step I want to make. It is a great step in the right direction. Again, I just always want to be better. I want to be the best I can be. So I just push myself. I think about my Mom and what she would want me to do and that definitely helps me to stay motivated."
When asked what soccer is to him, he replied wholeheartedly, "my life." From the mini-fields in Saskatoon, to stadiums of almost 60,000, this Saskatchewanian is surely making his mark on the sport of soccer for the province and he finished the interview by saying, "soccer has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life."
Follow Brett on Twitter, @BrettLevis to keep up-to-date on his journey in Vancouver, and to see news and stories about his action on the field, check out the Vancouver Whitecaps page http://www.whitecapsfc.com/.
Photo credit: Josh Schaefer
For Saskatoon's Brett Levis, it all started on the fields of Community Soccer. "I would have to go way back. I was part of the Saskatoon Youth Soccer Club and my Mom was actually the coach. The fondest memories I have was playing Club soccer, when I was probably 7 or 8 years old," he reminisced about the beginning of his love for the game. Levis won a provincial high school championship in 2010 with the Centennial Chargers and represented team Saskatchewan at the 2009 Canada Games.
Levis has certainly come a long way since those days, the twenty-one year old recently signed to the Whitecaps WFC2 roster, and he is settling into the routine of life in Vancouver. "It was definitely hard leaving my family, friends, and my girlfriend, especially this time around know[ing] that I am gone for 8 months, for the full thing. It is about overcoming struggles, continuing to become more independent and understanding that this is what I needed to do in order to become successful," he said, as we chatted about the challenges when your path to success is in front of you. "Once games start, I will have definitely have a ritual of what to do, to find the best situation that will set me up for the game. It's all sacrifice. If you really want to make it, you really have to sacrifice a lot." Brett is looking forward to the first Whitecaps regular season game on March 29th, 2015, which is also the midfielder's twenty-second birthday.
Levis was a large contributor to the success of the Huskies Men's Soccer team in his time with the University of Saskatchewan, posting 29 goals and recording 16 assists in 50 matches, and helped to capture the first Canada West Championship in the Program's history. In 2014, he led the Canada West Conference with nine goals and was named a CIS First Team All-Canadian. "It was an amazing team. I am going to miss them a lot. I have been with most of them through Sask. Soccer, coming up the ranks, and then into university. It was a developing team and we just built," said Levis about his Huskies team. "My first year, we didn't make play-offs, my second year, we made play-offs, my third year, we made play-offs and Nationals, [and] my fourth year, we won Can-West and made Nationals again, so it was definitely a progression. It was a full team effort and that is what it took to win Canada West. We never quit. Resilience [was a word] we used a lot throughout the year and we deserved it, and not only that we went out and took it, [but] we didn't let anything come to us. I really feel like that was a big moment for soccer in Saskatchewan", he lamented about the 2014 Can West Nationals experience.
Brett attributes much of his success to great coaching and support, "[Bryce Chapman] really helped me develop as a player and as a person. When you can be with somebody for that long, in terms of coaching, you become comfortable around them. We built a really good relationship, on and off the field. I can't say enough for what he has done for soccer in Saskatchewan and how much he has helped me." When asked about his greatest inspirations, "my family. My dad always supports me and follows what I am doing. My grandma is always worried about me. We always keep in touch and she is another inspiration of mine. My Mom was always my biggest inspiration. She passed away about seven and a half years ago now. She taught me a lot when I was younger, not only about soccer on the field, but how to be a good person. She taught me a lot of characteristics that I like to input upon myself. Most of the stuff I do, if not all of the stuff I do is not only for myself, [but] for her also."
How does Levis stay motivated? "It's just something inside me. That might sound a little bit cliché, but I never settle. I always want to be the best. I know my mom always wants me to be happy and for me I won't be happy until I achieve what I want to achieve. I signed my first pro contract, but it's not fully the step I want to make. It is a great step in the right direction. Again, I just always want to be better. I want to be the best I can be. So I just push myself. I think about my Mom and what she would want me to do and that definitely helps me to stay motivated."
When asked what soccer is to him, he replied wholeheartedly, "my life." From the mini-fields in Saskatoon, to stadiums of almost 60,000, this Saskatchewanian is surely making his mark on the sport of soccer for the province and he finished the interview by saying, "soccer has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life."
Follow Brett on Twitter, @BrettLevis to keep up-to-date on his journey in Vancouver, and to see news and stories about his action on the field, check out the Vancouver Whitecaps page http://www.whitecapsfc.com/.
Photo credit: Josh Schaefer