50 Grads, 50 Years

Amy Walsh (Social Science, 1996) spent 10 years with the Canada women’s national soccer team and was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2017.

She played at the Olympics in 2008 and at the Women’s World Cup in 1999 and 2007.

When she started her studies at Champlain Saint-Lambert, Walsh was “just on the cusp of becoming a recognized elite athlete.”

She said “the landscape of sport back then wasn’t what it is now with early specialization and Sport-études programs,” but said that at Champlain she felt “safe to make mistakes and grow.”

“It’s a time in your life that is so pivotal and I felt like I had a good balance of people I knew I could trust and felt supported by,” she said.

Walsh looks back on her time at Cegep as a period of “newfound independence” and growth for her as an athlete getting tapped to play on the youth national team the summer before she started at Champlain.

“It was then I realized I could maybe do something beyond my wildest dreams,” said Walsh.

“What exists now and the opportunities for young women to pursue a pro career like their male counterparts, we were far from it back in the late 90s. Though things were evolving, I never thought I could make a career of it.”

Walsh said she learned valuable skills in balancing academics and sport in Cegep as she played both soccer and basketball.

“The lessons and the experience that I got at Champlain allowed me to continue and find success in both realms, academic and athletic.”

From 1997 to 2009, Walsh played 102 matches for the national team.

She attended the University of Nebraska and played professionally for the Atlanta Beat, the Montreal Xtreme and Laval Comets.

She retired in 2009 ahead of the birth of her first child, but Walsh never strayed too far from the pitch.

Between providing sports commentary for TSN 690 radio, working as a broadcaster on the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and holding the mic on the sidelines of CF Montreal home games, Walsh is still very much in the game.

“The first time I was between the benches at Stade Saputo, I was so overjoyed to be there and it was then that I realized how much I missed being up close to the game,” she said.

“It’s a chance for me to keep my foot in the game,” she said. “It’s a way for me to get that rush again albeit not on the pitch but close to it.”

She is also working with FC Montreal to develop a women’s soccer program, it was announced in September.

Walsh also keeps her foot in the game literally, coaching her twins’ soccer team and sharing her passion for the sport.

“Any chance I get I try to talk to youth teams in the area about my path and my experience and hopefully give them the idea that a kid who grew up in Saint Bruno got to play on the national team for 10 years.”

“If they want to do it, they can absolutely achieve it.”

Walsh’s advice for current students and recent grads: “Try to find a way to be the best that you can be on a bad day. You can take comfort that you did everything that you possibly could. You leave it all on the field because you’ve controlled everything to the best of your ability.”