Two weeks after being named head coach of Canada’s under-20 women’s soccer team, Cindy Tye is still receiving congratulatory messages.
“I’ve been coaching for a long time so people I’ve played with, coached with, former players I’ve coached, people around the country reached out to me,” said Tye, who coaches the Dalhousie Tigers women’s team. “It definitely has been a little overwhelming.”
Tye’s new appointment with Canada Soccer’s national team program shouldn’t come as a big surprise. She has a wealth of experience working with young players, not only in her home province of Nova Scotia, but nationally as well.
“I’m a very collaborative coach who works with my players and my staff so that we are very prepared and that’s something I take a lot of pride in,” said Tye.
“Being a strong communicator both on and off the field is important, so you have everybody on the team all facing in the right direction.”
Tye grew up in Dartmouth and later moved to Truro, where she graduated from Cobequid Education Centre.
She played at Acadia University and won a national championship in he first season. She was an Atlantic conference all star in all her years at Acadia and was twice selected to the all-Canadian team.
She was an academic all-Canadian three times.
She played for Canada’s national women’s team for two seasons after her time as a varsity player.
Tye is in her fifth season coaching the Tigers.
There are eight Nova Scotians on the team, including some who played for Tye before enrolling at Dalhousie.
“She is a very level-headed coach who only brings emotion into it when she needs to motivate us to play better,” said Megan Chiasson, a midfielder from Lower Sackville who played for the Nova Scotia team coached by Tye at the 2017 Canada Games. “Cindy is very easy to deal with. If I have a problem I’m very comfortable talking to her about it.”
Tye’s players were excited to learn about her appointment.
“I think it’s a testament to everything she’s done up to this point,”. said Alex Doane of Brookside, another player who played for Tye at the 2017 Canada Games. “She’s definitely more than qualified and deserving of that role.”
Tye is the third Dalhousie women’s coach to lead a national team. Dalhousie women’s hockey coach Troy Ryan is the head coach of Canada’s national women’s hockey team. In the 1990s, Dalhousie women’s soccer coach Neil Turnbull led Canada’s national women’s soccer team.
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