Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Half packed and eager with the anticipation that an overseas adventure brings, Emily Burns is playing a waiting game as the dog days of August wind down.
Last month, the former MacEwan Griffins goalkeeper announced she'd signed her first professional contract with Real Racing club in Satander, Spain. Her bags were packed to leave on Aug. 1 before a spike in COVID-19 cases there pushed back training camp timelines for the Spanish second division club, but there is a good chance she will be heading over later this month.
"Usually, I'm used to knowing exactly when preseason starts with MacEwan and my time in Calgary playing for Foothills," said Burns. "It's been a change, getting all excited and half packed, but I don't know when I'm leaving. It's just been mentally tough, more than anything, preparing like I'm leaving tomorrow, just in case."
A fluid timeline amidst a pandemic notwithstanding, there is no dampening Burns' excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead. The former U SPORTS and Canada West all-star, who graduated from MacEwan last spring, is a professional now.
At one time that seemed like a pipe dream for the Sherwood Park product.
"I kind of came into MacEwan not really expecting much," said Burns, who joined the Griffins in 2015 out of Strathcona Christian high school. "I don't think (Griffins head coach) Dean (Cordeiro) was expecting too much either. Obviously, he recruited me and saw something in me, but I don't either of us really expected me to become the starter, especially not so quickly.
"Just building off where I started and where I finished with MacEwan is huge for me, just to remember how much work I put in and how much Dean and the whole coaching staff gave back to me. They tried to push me to be my best."
Despite her early doubts, Burns became the most accomplished goalkeeper MacEwan's women's soccer program has ever had, posting 26 shutouts in 64 career regular season matches (and another five in the playoffs). She twice made Team Canada Universiade teams (2016 and 2018), was twice named a Canada West all-star (2016 and 2019) and made the U SPORTS second all-star team after her final season last fall.
"What an amazing achievement," said Cordeiro. "Emily becomes the first since I've been with the program to sign a professional contract. I couldn't be more proud of her.
"She's excelled in every part of the game as a U SPORTS all-star, Canada West all-star and she was our MVP one year. To see Emily want to continue her pursuit of a professional career is truly gratifying from a coach's standpoint."
Emily Burns is flanked by her parents Evelyn, left, and Gordon as she signs her first professional contract with Spanish club Real Racing (Courtesy, Emily Burns).
Burns seized the starting goalkeeper job with the Griffins in her rookie season in 2015 and never looked back. But it wasn't until she excelled playing in the United Women's Soccer Leagues with Calgary-based Foothills FC – making the all-star team in 2017 – that she started to believe playing professional one day could become a reality.
"It was always a dream when you grow up – you want to play professionally and make it big – but it didn't really seem that tangible until pretty late in my university career. When I started playing for Foothills, I started to realize it could be possible," said Burns, crediting Foothills coach Troye Flannery for fueling her belief and kick-starting the process that led to finding an agent and signing in Spain. "Just to have this opportunity is huge for me."
It's a dream realized and a chance to prove herself all over again.
"It will be an interesting process," she explained. "Coming off my five years at MacEwan, I've been able to play lots and play with Foothills. Switching to pro now, I'll be a new name, especially in a foreign country. Nobody knows me. So, it will kind of like starting from square one. I have to build it up. I have to work harder and try to make my name."
Earning her playing time is nothing new, though, and she's eager to put in the work as one of several new players Real Racing has added in an attempt to make it back to Spain's top division.
"From what I've heard, the team is built with that mindset to go into the first division, so they have a lot of talent and many top prospects," she said. "I know the other goalkeeper going in is also new to the team. With any team I go into, I don't ever expect to be the starter and I never ask to be told I'm the starter before going.
"I want to have the chance to prove myself and work hard for that position. I'm trying to go in with the mindset that that spot is not mine, but I'd like to work hard enough to earn it."
