Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Saskatoon's Renee DeCorby has trained with Wales professional team Swansea City and attended a Team Canada U17 identification camp.
Next season, she will become a member of the MacEwan University Griffins women's soccer team.
Head coach Dean Cordeiro announced Thursday that the talented centre-back will join fellow Team Canada prospects – 2019 MacEwan rookie Shanice Alfred and 2020 recruit Grace Mwasalla – on the Griffins.
"She came to watch us play last weekend," said Cordeiro, whose squad was in Regina for the Great Plains Challenge preseason tournament. "She came into one of our team photos and shared a pretty cool moment with Shanice because they hadn't seen each other since they were in Burnaby at that national team camp."
To have played at that level, as well as earning a prestigious invite from Swansea City just this past summer speaks volumes about how talented a player DeCorby is.
"Obviously, what she's been able to accomplish speaks for itself," said Cordeiro. "She had the opportunity to go train with pro side Swansea City in the U.K., and they offered her an opportunity to remain. To be offered an opportunity at a professional level as a Grade 10 student is unreal."
DeCorby also represented Saskatchewan at the 2017 Canada Summer Games.
"She's top class," said Cordeiro. "Her ability to build up out of the back is elite and she fits our playing style to a T. She has an innate ability to connect passes, she's fantastic in the air and is an outstanding 1v1 defender. Her ability to read the play, block shots and do all the little things well is outstanding. She makes it look easy.
"For me, I haven't really seen a centre-back this well developed at this young of an age," he continued. "That's really exciting because Jamie Erickson graduates next year and Samantha Gouveia in two years' time. So, to have a player like Renee we can add to the mix with Kaitlin Willisko and Abbey Wright, who are 01s, it's really setting up the future nicely."
DeCorby is the full package, bringing a top standard in the classroom as well.
"We're just super pumped," said Cordeiro. "She's an honours student, so she excels in theclassroom as well. Renee just checks all those boxes as a student-athlete. We couldn't be happier that she chose MacEwan and she's going to be another huge piece to the puzzle here."
Renee DeCorby attended a Team Canada U17 ID camp in 2017 with current Griffins striker Shanice Alfred and future Griffin Grace Mwasalla.