PLAYER\u2019S DIARY: VFC on road this weekend, focused on a win<\/p>\n
Published 6:00 pm Thursday, April 16, 2026<\/p>\n
This weekend will be my first away day fixture in the Canadian Premier League, and our first of the new season with Vancouver FC.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, we face the rebranded York United FC \u2013 now Inter Toronto FC, with kickoff at 2 p.m. PT at the York Lions Stadium.<\/p>\n
LAST GAME \u2013 VIDEO: A heartbreaker of a loss for Vancouver FC<\/a><\/p>\n This is my first season as a professional, after signing with Vancouver FC in January. But, luckily for me I have some experience, as last year I played with SFU in the NCAA, which means pretty much every week we were flying to the States to play matches.<\/p>\n My first ever away game with Vancouver FC came in the CONCACAF Champions Cup in February \u2013 and that was an eye-opener to the step-up. As soon as we landed in Mexico City, they had a bus and police escort waiting for us. They had bags of food with our names on it for us to eat on the journey.<\/p>\n A few months earlier, I had been getting $10 at the airport to grab a pre-made sandwich at one of the newsstands.<\/p>\n There are, of course, some changes to our weekly routine when we\u2019re on the road compared to a home fixture in Langley. The first two or three sessions every week are normally pretty intense. We\u2019ll get more kilometres into us, we\u2019ll do heavier lifts in the gym for the first two days. Then it\u2019s max effort on Wednesday. We then travel \u2013 on a Thursday for a Saturday game, and usually on a Friday for a Sunday game.<\/p>\n The remaining sessions are more tactical, working on set-pieces.<\/p>\n The back four work together on breaking out from defence. Forwards are working on finishing and more individual stuff just to taper down the body, because it\u2019s pretty sore from the beginning of the week.<\/p>\n For the session the day before kick-off, we try to get onto the pitch at the stadium.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019re there, you walk around and get a feel for the surroundings. It\u2019s usually not quite how I imagined it, so seeing it in person really helps with visualization and preparation. The session itself is light \u2013 maybe 45 minutes \u2013 just some passing drills and a few set pieces.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good way to get the blood flowing again after the travel.<\/p>\n Normally, after the game, you\u2019d go to the hotel, eat and sleep, wake up, and travel back the next day.<\/p>\n It\u2019s normally the long bus rides that get me \u2013 they leave my legs feeling heavy and sluggish because there\u2019s no real blood flow, and flights aren\u2019t much better. Being a bigger guy, I always try to get a window or aisle seat, and fortunately I have no problem sleeping on planes.<\/p>\n The hotel side of things is actually no problem for me \u2013 in a lot of ways, it\u2019s even easier to stick to my routine on away trips than at home. When you\u2019re in the hotel the day before or on game day, everything\u2019s already there.<\/p>\n The trainers are on site, the food\u2019s sorted, your kit\u2019s ready \u2013 you don\u2019t really have to think about anything. It\u2019s all laid out on a set schedule, so if I want to go down for treatment, I can just go.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no driving to the facility or waiting around. It makes everything a lot more straightforward.<\/p>\n It\u2019s like a base camp \u2013 it just feels more focused because everyone\u2019s there for the same reason.<\/p>\n The main objective of this club and league is for homegrown talent to have an opportunity to compete as professionals in a national league and provide a clear Canadian pathway to the world stage. So these experiences, learning how to prepare and perform home or away, is a key part of that journey for all of us.<\/p>\n This weekend, we\u2019re focused on picking up our first points on the road and bringing a strong result back to Langley.<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n RELATED:<\/p>\n PLAYER\u2019S DIARY \u2013 First Vancouver FC game of season seen from the bench<\/a><\/p>\n AND:<\/p>\n