Smyth commits to Bishop’s
Kate Smyth has made an immediate impact with the St. Catharines Club Roma League2 women’s team.
The 18-year-old, Grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill has already scored early in the season and quickly caught the eye of Roma head coach Rob Lalama.
“She is a young player but she has impressed me unbelievably with her play,” Lalama said. “She is one of our top players and still in high school. She has brought it to practice, brought it to games.”
Smyth played U19 last season but has quickly adapted to League2.
“There is a different, higher demand this year,” Lalama said. “She is understanding at this level she is playing with players that when she gives the ball away she gets it right back.
“She’s a very important part of our attack. I expect her to be, if not scoring, be part of the set up and she has been.”
Smyth is enjoying the experience so far.
“I think it’s been really good,” she said. “I’ve played with a lot of girls in the past that were OPDL (Ontario Player Development League) so from last season to this season is a big difference but everyone is getting along really well.
“I think it’s going well so far and there’s a lot of to come. We’re still learning how to play together.”
Smyth feels playing at Roma will help her develop her skills and prepare her for this fall after recently committing to Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Que.
“I’m looking to get as much playing time as I can, get in shape and continuously work on my skill,” Smyth said. “I’m playing at a pretty competitive level so I’m preparing to go into the university season. A lot of it is getting as many touches on the ball as I can.”
Smyth, who will be studying health sciences, was spotted by Bishop’s coach Paul Ballard at an ID camp last year. The two kept in touch before Smyth went for a visit, which sealed the deal.
“He’s such a great guy and coach and was I really interested in the program,” Smyth said. “I went to visit and I really liked the team, the coaches, the program. It was just all really good.
“It fit a lot of what I was looking for which was a big aspect of why I chose the school.”
Smyth said the visit helped alleviate her worries about the being so far from home.
“I think that was the one thing holding me back so going there. Seeing the school and went I went to visit talking to the girls and being in the community and getting involved (really helped). They had a fashion show that was a really good experience. It really clicked and all the thoughts about being unsure went away and it was really assuring which was nice,” she said.
Ballard feels Smyth will be a key cog for the school going forward.
“We are so excited to have Kate join us at BU,” Ballard said on the school’s Instagram account. “ Kate is an elite multi-sport student athlete who has a winning mindset in everything that she does. You name the sport, Kate has done it, and succeeded at it. But on top of that, she is a top level student with academic goals that match her athletic ones. Kate will have an instant impact on our lineup and has the capacity to do great things as a Gaiter for years to come.”
Smyth has won a gold and two bronze medals at OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) basketball as well as bronze in both soccer and volleyball.
The Wolves, 2-1, are home to Rush Canada Friday, May 24 at 8 p.m.
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