Gilliam inducted into Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame
A female soccer pioneer joined the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame this past Sunday.
Poppy Gilliam, who was inducted along with Tim Topping, Shelley Gautier, the 1981 Niagara Falls Kiwanis Club under-13 boys soccer squad and the 2001-02 Niagara Falls Thunder midget AAA hockey team, was one of the first two women from Niagara Falls to go play NCAA Division 1 soccer in the United States. She attended Brown University.
“I wanted an excellent education. It was an Ivy League university so that checked one of the boxes I wanted and I wanted to play for a top program. I went down for a recruiting trip and I fell in love with the campus and the coach there, Phil Pincince.”
At Brown, Gilliam was named to the All-Ivy Team, was captain her senior year and won the Ivy League championship twice. In her third year, the team was ranked 12th and lost 1-0 to UConn in the NCAA Sweet 16 round. She had a 4.0 grade point average and was awarded the Brown University Leadership.
“It was elite level soccer. I remember my mandate was if I didn’t knock my mark down onto the ground in the first five minutes, I would have to sit. It was a very physical game and I took it to heart. I was never dirty — it was always hard tackles — and it was an intense level of play,” she said. “The Americans, let’s face it, they exalt sport to a different level. We had our own weight room with the men’s soccer. You very much felt like you were put on a pedestal playing Ivy League sports in the States. Americans revere their sports.”
Wth one year eligibility remaining after graduating from Brown, she played for Brock while taking her masters degree in education.
“I wanted to keep playing and I still loved soccer. Ironically when I was at Brown, I played defence and when I came back to Brock I said, ‘I am a forward.’ I was their leading scorer and it was a lot of fun for me.”
She won the President’s Award and helped Brock qualify for the Ontario University Athletics championships, where the team was ousted in the quarter-finals.
Gilliam started in soccer at age six with the Niagara Falls Soccer League before joining the St. Catharines Jets premier team when she was 16. She would end up playing for the Jets for 20 years, serving as captain for 15 years and helping to lead the team to numerous Ontario championships.
It was with the Jets premier team where she met her greatest mentor.
“Walt Robertson was my coach for 20 years and he was honestly like a second father. He was so instrumental in the pivotal years from age 16 to 36. He was Scottish, passionate for the game and he dedicated so many hours to coaching us and we were a successful team. We did very well over the years.”
She was a two-year member of Team Ontario as a defender and forward and was selected to train with the national development program.
At A.N. Myer, she was a multi-sport athlete, competing in soccer, basketball, volleyball and badminton and won many zone and Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association titles. She was a member of the high school’s soccer and basketball teams that advanced to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships. The student council and athletic council president was eventually named to the school’ sports hall of game.
Her career highlights were many.
“For me, it was the memories, the friendships, the camaraderie and the people over the years. I played with some unbelievable women and had wonderful coaches. I am so thankful and all the skills I learned — the leadership, the perseverance, the grit and teamwork — have helped me be a better person and successful in my role in life as a principal.”
She also pointed to winning a pair of Ivy League championships and having the chance to train with the national development program.
“We trained outside all winter. They would plough Ivor Wynne Stadium and we trained so intensely in terrible conditions, but it fostered so many skills.”
She is a part-time principal of employee services with the District School Board of Niagara which allows her to travel and follow the sports exploits of her sons, Daxx and Chase Partridge, who are talented AAA hockey players.
Gilliam has coached school and travel soccer for more than 30 years and ran the Just for Kicks summer camp in Niagara Falls.
This past season, she co-coached Daxx’s regional team.
Gilliam was co-lead for soccer at the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara and her work there saw her invited by Soccer Canada to assist in staging national championships.
Sunday’s induction ceremony was special for Gilliam.
“In some ways, it feels like coming full circle, starting at age six and being able to play for 30 years and coach for 30 years. Of course there is overlap there and that is not indicative of age,” she said, with a laugh. “It’s where I grew up. I have so many fond memories here and this is where everything started. I had wonderful coaching here and because they didn’t have premier team in Niagara Falls, I had to go to St. Catharines. It is a beautiful honour to be recognized.”
