Gale Russell never wavered from his vision to grow youth soccer in Prince George.
Back in the early 1990s there was no shortage of kids interested in playing the world’s most popular sport. They just needed a bigger, better place to play, and as chairman of the Prince George Youth Soccer Association, Russell helped make that happen.
He was one of the movers and shakers leading a joint City of Prince George/Prince George Rotary Club project to create an eight-field facility at Exhibition Park – a lush green jewel of youth soccer humanity that would become the envy of the province.
“Gale did so much for the game, he loved kids and he did a lot of work at the beginning when we needed him the most,” said longtime soccer goalie/referee Gaetano Mauro, who co-founded the PGYSA in 1961 with his father-in-law John de Silva.
“When you talk about promoting the game, with our facilities you couldn’t do it and that was his main thing that he did. Thanks to the Rotary, but I mean somebody had to do the groundwork and we’re grateful for what he’s done.”
Russell died peacefully in Prince George Hospice House on Aug. 31 after a four-year illness. He was 78.
Born and raised in the Montreal suburb of West Brome, Que., Russell moved to Prince George in 1967 and earned his living as a self-employed businessman with Allen’s Bottle Depot, Northern Ice Supply, Spruceland Emporium and his legacy lives on in many Prince George restaurants for the supplies he sold as owner of Northern Food Equipment.
He and wife Debby had two sons, Terrol and Bree, and Gale stepped up when his boys needed a soccer coach. As president of the Quinson Community Association he helped start an indoor soccer program for kids and in the early 1980s he joined the PGYSA as a house league coach.
Despite never having played the game himself, he found he loved coaching kids and wore his coach’s hat from 1980-98. He signed up for every coaching course available and shot up the ranks into the city’s all-star program, using his newly-acquired expertise to guide Prince George teams to two boys BC crowns and one girls provincial title.
He also got involved as a referee and his persistent pleading with the BC Youth Soccer Association led to the city attracting several high-level coaching and officiating clinics.
First elected to the PGYSA board of directors in 1986, his efforts were instrumental in development of the mini-soccer program, which got hundreds of kids honing their skills at an early age playing on small fields where ball touches were frequent. As head of the all-star program, Prince George teams reaped an unprecedented number of provincial medals.
Russell served on the PGYSA executive for 18 years and was chair of the board from 1994-2003. Under Russell’s watch as PGYSA chairman he brought the largest youth tournaments the city has ever seen to what was then known as New Rotary Stadium, which hosted the Rocky Mountain Cup and the U15/U-17 girls all-star national championships in 2001.
He also served as youth soccer’s liaison to the city’s adult soccer leagues, then called the Prince George Women’s Soccer Association and North Cariboo Senior Soccer League, and was involved as a director in the women’s Blackburn Cup and men’s Prince George Invitational tournaments.
He also organized the Northern Capital Sports Society and its annual golf tournament, which raised money for UNBC’s soccer programs and the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame, of which he served on the nomination committee. In 2003 he was inducted into the PG Hall under the builder category.
“His over 35 years of involvement was a true testimony of a man who played a pivotal role in shaping the future of the PGYSA,” said longtime friend Shafeed Rahman, who preceded Russell as PGYSA chair.
“His leadership paved and cemented the organization to be second to none in this province. The growth from 800 kids to 3,300 was an unreal achievement.”
Rahman said while Russell sometimes rubbed people the wrong way with his boisterous personality he had a heart of gold and there was never a dull moment when he was around him.
“He called a spade a spade and his straightforward attitude and honesty was admired by friends and political foes alike,” said Rahman. “The man loved life and gave helping hands to many needy people.
“During his reign there was real progress because this guy was a worker and he put a lot of time, effort and money to promote the league. He became the voice of the Interior at all levels of the BC Soccer.”
Keith Liddiard, a former executive director of the BC Youth Soccer Association, admits he was no fan of Russell’s when he first came face-to-face with him at the BC Youth Soccer AGM in 1993.
“When I first met him, I couldn’t stand him,” laughed Liddiard. “He was a fairly loud individual, very opinionated and he questioned everything that came up in the agenda. There was just something about him, he was one of those personalities.
“But the one thing about him that I discovered early on is he always had his facts right and his opinions were based on solid information and his thought process was very concise and clear. I found him to be that way most of the years I got to know him. He’s a blunt individual who doesn’t mince words and doesn’t take fools lightly and as a consequence he could turn a few people off, but that was just a first impression.”
Liddiard came often to soccer events in Prince George from his home in Kamloops and it didn’t take long for him and Russell to become good friends.
“He’s just an amazing guy, he’s a real character and I really enjoyed being in his company,” said Liddiard. “He came on the scene provincially in 1993 and he could be a pain in the side because he was so blunt and because he was so well-informed and I just came to respect the man so much. The amount of time he put into it and the experience he brought to the organization, he was a good speaker and I just came to love the guy.
“He had an unbelievable sense of humour. He didn’t tell jokes, but he was just funny with the stuff he put into conversations. There were times he was just on, and the humour didn’t stop. He had lots to say, he was never short of words and I often thought to myself if I ever got stuck on an island somewhere and needed someone to be with me it would be Gale because he wouldn’t stop talking. He’d keep you entertained, he was knowledgeable and he was so funny.”
BC Soccer will recognize Russell’s accomplishments with a special award to be announced at its annual general meeting in November.
A memorial service is planned for this Saturday from 2-4 p.m. at the Coast Inn of the North.
