End of an era at USB

St. Boniface

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This article was published 05/04/2023 (1150 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Justin Légaré is signing out on a winning note.

The coach of the Université de Saint-Boniface Les Rouges women’s futsal team recently oversaw the team’s fourth consecutive Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference championship by beating the Brandon Bobcats 7-0 on Feb. 19, which also won him the 2023 women’s futsal coach of the year award. The team previously won the 2019, 2020 and 2022 titles.

As previously reported in December 2022, Légaré — who was also the head coach of the Les Rouges women’s soccer team for a decade — is stepping away from the program with a heavy heart to focus on other things. He was just as successful with the soccer team, having won the last three MCAC championships during his tenure.

“It was a pretty wonderful game,” said Légaré, referring to the shutout demolition of the Bobcats, which was not only his swansong, but also the final competitive MCAC game for a number of the southeast Winnipeg team’s players.

“I think we had the most dominant season, in terms of both the futsal and soccer teams, and I think we’ve fulfilled our potential and got better over time. It’s still a very difficult decision to leave, and my heart is mending at the moment.”

As well as Légaré’s personal accolades, some of his players have also been recognized, as well. Fifth-year midfielder Katie Moniot was named 2023 women’s futsal player of the year, and she was also named a 2023 all-conference player along with teammates Alexi Gagnon and Émilie Lecuyer.

Légaré has developed a close bond with the core of his players, some of whom he’s worked with for several years. Interestingly, he said certain players are more comfortable playing futsal, which is played indoors, than soccer.

In terms of his coach of the year award, Légaré said it’s a testament to the efforts and hard work of everyone involved with the team.

“It’s a reflection of my team, which makes me happy for that reason. It’s important that the girls are recognized, and the award is flattering, for sure,” he said.

“We really, really dominated this year. Even at 7-0 in the championship game, our players were throwing their bodies into shots. We were just on fire, on a different level. We were pretty dominant. They worked so hard, and set the bar high.”

The team did suffer one loss this season, which Légaré said is part of rolling with the punches, not least because it’s part of the learning curve: “It’s good to lose once in a while, as a loss can humble you and wake you up.”

Reflecting on the end of an era, Légaré said he had a conversation with one of his players who shared a question that hit him hard.

“She said, ‘how do you say goodbye to something you don’t want to say goodbye to?’” he said. “I really had to stop and think about that, but also realized that was definitely how I was feeling.”

“I thought I could answer it, but the more I thought about it the more I struggled and realized how hard that was to answer. Although I know it’s time to move on, I have had the honour of working with some amazing young athletes who are also amazing people and saying goodbye is not easy, and so I blame them for making this so hard!” Légaré added.