By Limara Yakemchuk
Pacific FC (PFC), Victoria’s own Canadian Premier League soccer team, kicked off their pre-season training at PISE this February. The team’s first stop every season is pre-season training at PISE with PFC Head Performance Coach Chris Hinton, a week of field drills, strength training, and mobility.
Since 2019, PISE and PFC have partnered to provide a state-of-the-art training environment for the team. Chris, who also happens to be PISE’s Performance Coordinator, has worked with the team since their first season. He’s always had an interest in high-level sports, physiology, and performance psychology. During pre-season training, Chris put the team through exercises to improve speed, power, and overall performance. Tailoring to the different positions within the team, Chris alters their training program; where a striker needs training designed to build sprint power, a goalie needs to focus on explosiveness. The unique set-up at PISE lets players easily transition from the weight room to the turf field as they progress through their training day. After their initial week, the team will continue to build on performance through twice weekly sessions leading up to their first game on April 9th.
The day to day routine of being in a group of hard working people and the sense of family are Chris’s favourite things about working with the team. PFC’s win at the 2021 Canadian Premier League Final is up there too. While he wasn’t at training, be sure to catch Stewie the Starfish at a PFC game throughout the season – you might even see him do a backflip! The gymnastics are more of Stewie’s thing, but you’ll spot Chris on around the field with the team.
