Josh Heard says he couldn’t have imagined playing professionally for a hometown soccer club and “definitely not being the captain of that club.”
That, however, is what he has become as Heard was named Tuesday to succeed the retired Jamar Dixon as captain of Pacific FC.
“It’s exciting. It’s not every day you are named captain of a club,” said Heard.
The last time that happened for him was in his senior season in the NCAA Pac-12 with the University of Washington Huskies.
“This is my first captainship as a professional and that makes it more special,” said Heard, 28, who came up through the Lakehill, Victoria Metro and Highlanders associations.
As a winger who has caused havoc on opposing Canadian Premier League defences, the Reynolds Secondary soccer academy product has 14 goals and nine assists in 66 games for PFC across all competitions since 2020, including a marvellous pivot to get past the defence to score a memorable goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS in the 2021 Canadian Championship Voyageurs Cup quarter-finals at Starlight Stadium.
Heard succeeds the Canada-capped Dixon, who wore the captain’s armband the past two seasons.
“I learned the importance of leadership from Jamar and what it means to have a presence on the team,” said Heard.
“I hope I can fill those shoes and be that presence.”
Heard added it’s important for captains to be open, honest and approachable.
“What makes a great captain is someone who is easy to speak to and to approach,” said the exiting Dixon, who remains with PFC as a coach in youth player development.
“Josh [Heard] is a guy that comes to training and what you see there is what you see in the game. He doesn’t vary from that, there’s no difference in his training ability to his game ability. He holds himself to a high standard.”
Indeed, more than being a rah-rah type of guy, Heard said he prefers to “lead by example and by my work in the field. In that regard, nothing changes for me by wearing the armband.”
Heard said he will surround himself with a leadership group composed of PFC veteran players Manny Aparicio, Amer Đidic, and Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, all members of the PFC 2021 CPL-championship team.
“Most successful teams are not led by just one guy but by a group,” said Head.
PFC opens the 2023 CPL season April 15 at Starlight Stadium against expansion Vancouver FC.
