When it comes to soccer, the Kidds are all right

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This article was published 25/07/2017 (3233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former NHL goaltender Trevor Kidd has helped his three daughters become impressive athletes — but not in the sport that you think.

No, you won’t find Taylor, Kennedy or Emerson Kidd between the pipes like their famous dad — but you can find them making a big impact on the soccer pitch.

Taylor, the oldest of the girls at 23, played NCAA soccer at the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) from 2012-15, 19-year old Kennedy is currently playing at the University of North Dakota and 15-year-old Emerson will follow in her oldest sister’s footsteps and head to UTEP to play soccer when she’s finished high school.

Trevor said his family’s journey to soccer stardom started when he was playing hockey for the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers in the late 90s and early 2000s.

“You go back to when I was in Carolina and Florida when my kids were first getting into sports and hockey wasn’t really on the radar in those places at the time. So soccer was a sport they gravitated to when they were very young. Ultimately when I retired from hockey and moved back to Winnipeg, they continued to play the game here,” said Trevor, who also spent time with the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs during his 12-year playing career.

Trevor hung up the skates for good in 2006 after playing a season in Germany for the Hannover Scorpions. A couple years after he returned home, he co-founded the Manitoba Blizzard, a soccer program for elite female talent. The program has since evolved and now trains males, as well. Trevor credited the Manitoba Soccer Association for helping make that happen. The Blizzard has been in existence for eight years and in that time has helped players earn almost $4 million in soccer scholarships. Taylor, Kennedy and Emerson all spent time in the program.

“(Kennedy and Emerson) followed in their older sisters’ footsteps to some degree. They’ve all been pretty lucky and blessed to move through the system locally to make their way down south and showcase their talents all across North America,” said Trevor.

Taylor and Kennedy never got to experience a Canada Games, but Emerson will get that chance next week as a member of Team Manitoba. Emerson says both of her sisters will be there to watch her and Manitoba’s first match of the tournament against New Brunswick on Sunday. She says her older sisters are “probably a little jealous” they never got to play in a Games themselves.

“I’m pretty excited because it’s at home. There will be lots of friends and family there and that’s cool,” said Emerson, who plays midfield.

Emerson said a big reason for her success is not only her dad but also constantly being around her sisters and learning from them. She said she played hockey in grade six, but she wanted to follow in her siblings footsteps and play soccer.

“We constantly push each other. We’ll go to the field by our house and do drills. We’re always supporting each other and helping each other become the best players that we can be. It has definitely helped me to play against the bigger stronger players because I would have to push myself harder to keep up with (my sisters) and play at their level,” said Emerson.

Emerson said the goal for her and Team Manitoba is to make it out of the group stage and reach the medal round. She has talked with her dad about his experience of playing at the Olympic Games and how he handled the pressure and she says it has helped her calm her nerves heading into the Canada Games later this week.

“I was fortunate enough to play in the Olympics when I was 19,” Trevor said. “It was a great experience and something that I reflect on and look back at now with a lot of fond memories. The Canada Games, it’s not the Olympics, but it’s something with how it’s modeled and structured with the athlete’s village, the professionalism, the opening and closing ceremonies that there are so many similarities between with the two events.

“If you’re never going to get the chance to participate in the Olympics, the Canada Games for a Canadian athlete is probably the next closest thing.”

Trevor won a silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.

He is a part of the mission staff for the Canada Games girls’ team and he said he loves being a part of the soccer community. He said he is content being a soccer dad and he’s happy to get his hockey “fix” through covering the Winnipeg Jets on TSN 1290.

“I played goalie and that was enough. I enjoy watching them try to score goals instead of them trying to save them,” he said.

The Manitoba girls hit the pitch for the first time Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex against New Brunswick. They take on Nova Scotia the next day in their final pool match, which also takes place at Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex at 7:30 p.m.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31