CAPERS Head Coach Deano Morley Reflects on National Triumph and the Road Ahead

By IAIN KING 

DEANO MORLEY woke up the morning after CBU CAPERS were crowned Men's U SPORTS National Champions on home soil and stared at that glittering trophy. 

 The Head Coach, now in his 10th year at the helm of a nationally recognized program, took a moment to savour his team's historic success. The second Canadian title in his tenure. Then he took a deep breath and started recruiting again. 

Recounting this story is not sporting vanity for the driven Englishman, it's just an elite varsity coach giving you a glimpse into his way of life. What it takes to be the best. 

"Yes, the next morning after winning Nationals I was recruiting," reflects Deano. "The biggest fear after achieving what we did was not being ready for what happens next. It's what you do after you win that counts most." 

The nature of University sport is one of evolution. A team reaches the summit, they become Champions of Canada then pivotal figures like captain Ze Cunha and heartbeat of the team Raine Lynn graduate and depart. New leaders must emerge to craft their own stories and write their own headlines and this time that meant ELEVEN new signings. 

"Yes, we have a lot of new faces, you have to look at a process of constantly adapting and becoming new," confesses Coach Morley. "We have lost a lot of leadership, experience and seniority from the team that won Nationals but that gives us a big opportunity. 

"We can recreate and we can repurpose, I don't like the word rebuild. If you have a Championship culture in place, which I feel we do, then you hope the morals, standards and values transcend through the dressing-room. The football will take care of itself each year, we can maximise the potential of the team we create. My concern always is how the culture is developing and I like what I see so far." 

The CAPERS begin their AUS season with a tough away trip to the University of New Brunswick on Friday night (August 30) before Sunday afternoon's clash at the University of Prince Edward Island. 

Pre-season camp and a series of three exhibition games against St. Mary's University, Dalhousie and Mount Allision are in the books now. Two weeks of studied preparation gearing up to this date in the diary. Friday Night Lights. 

"It's a long ride and UNB is a tough place to go in Game One, an excellent program with an accomplished coach in Barry Morrison," stresses Deano. "They will have a big crowd out. We have a nine-hour drive to get there and we need to be disciplined and experienced and show why we won a National title. This, though, is a chance to bond on the road then get over to the beauty of PEI for Game Two. I am excited to see how we cope." 

It's a decade now since the former CAPERS player and Assistant Coach took over at the top of the CBU Men's Soccer team, in charge of a program that continues to grow and evolve each year.  

The core values are steadfast but the players and coaches alike are encouraged to collaborate to find ways to improve how the CAPERS operate. Deano, a lifelong learner and educator with a Master of Science in Leadership, relishes being at the heart of that. 

It is sobering to reflect that when you combine the average tenure of Head Coaches in North America's Major League Soccer (MLS) and Europe's top five leagues it is less than TWO YEARS. The nature of modern sports media means Morley's name is constantly linked to vacancies in the Canadian Premier League. 

"I am in my 10th year as the Head Coach here at CBU, I look at the professional game and that statistic you have given me," he muses. "Do those coaches have the chance to affect standards and culture? I would argue that they are in a race for short-term results. My goal back in 2014 was to ensure that the CAPERS didn't become a year-to-year team. I wanted us to be a program that evolves." 

"I am proud most of our consistency, we have a chance now to go to our ninth National Championship in a row during that decade. Within that players come and go; we have had two players in 10 years who have not completed their four years with us. 

"Players come here, they are happy, they serve the team and they move on with their careers. We are not a one and done program. It would be easy to become that, we have players who want to come here and bounce into the Canadian Premier League but we will never be a doormat. This island, this University and this soccer community deserves more than that." 

On Friday night the Class of 2024 will take the field for the first time in competitive action. Brought together from Canada, England, France and Israel there are new faces who will become familiar to CAPERS fans as we set out on another journey together. 

Deano smiles ruefully when he ponders on the peaks and troughs wife Lisa watches him go through as he crafts a new roster each year. 

"I am up one day and down the next in a recruitment journey, my wife thinks I am crazy," he admits. "One moment I am up on the roof talking to myself and pondering where it has all gone wrong and the next I am running around the garden in joy swinging my shirt over my head! 

"This process keeps you young. It's a lot of work and you can talk to 100 recruits to get 10. I'm thrilled with this class and it is up there with the best we have ever done. It complements the returning players, it adds depth, quality and experience. We are in a special place and when you look at where we are going to be in 2027 then it motivates you even more." 

On Friday September 6 the University will hold a special ceremony to present the Championship rings to our 2023 National Champions. For Coach Morley it will be a special night, one last glance backwards to a November afternoon and that Final win over the Montreal Carabins that will forever be etched in the memories of those who were there. 

"You have to look back long enough to inform how you can move forward," reasons Deano. "I love that we are going to celebrate the journey and where it has taken the program. I will enjoy looking back at the impact we had on our community, the growth we have helped with at Soccer Cape Breton, and the influence we have had and how we have inspired the kids. Now, though, we have a target on our backs. We are ranked number 1 in the country and it is about how these players deal with that pressure. I can't wait to see them face that challenge."