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Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference "To be Canada's premiere collegiate athletic conference by developing and inspiring leadership through excellence in academics, sport and citizenship"
Posted: Feb 01, 2022

O'Toole Retires After 13 Years

O'Toole Retires After 13 Years

Edmonton, AB (February 1, 2022) - The NAIT Ooks men's soccer coach, Charles O'Toole, announced his retirement. The two-time coach of the year has been the Head Coach of the men's soccer program since 2013 and was the assistant coach from 2009-2012. O'Toole also played two years at NAIT, winning gold in the first CCAA National Championship and winning the bronze at the National Championships in his second year. He was the country's top goal scorer in both his years at NAIT, setting a record that still stands today, scoring 53 goals in 16 games.  

When asked about his retirement from the program, O'Toole said that retirement is such a strong word, "I'm not sure anyone really retires. They just slow down or take a step back but somehow always stay involved in something they love and enjoy. My time at NAIT as a player and coach has been extremely rewarding. I accomplished everything that I could possibly want to do. However, I think my greatest satisfaction has been that the players I have been involved with are still playing the game." 

The last couple of seasons haven't been easy for the NAIT Ooks, but O'Toole looks at them in a different light, "our last season was probably the most rewarding given the adversity the team coped with." The NAIT Ooks lost their home field and dealt with the effects of a global pandemic, but ultimately, they came out ahead, winning the bronze medal at the CCAA nationals hosted by SAIT.  

O'Toole has been around for a long time. Still, he credits his success to those he works alongside, "working with Jordan Richey, his predecessor Gregg Meropolus and the other athletic department staff through the years was an absolute pleasure. I'm sure I caused them many headaches over the years, but they were always there to help me. They allowed me to grow as a coach. We won everything as a team and on an individual basis. We set many records along that journey and have sent many players on to professional academies and professional careers. NAIT has a strong academic and athletic commitment to its student-athletes and always supports their coaches, and I have been privileged to have been a part of this institution and its success. I wish NAIT and its soccer program continued success. ONCE AN OOK, ALWAYS AN OOK."

NAIT Athletics Manager Jordan Richey had this to say regarding Charles.

"NAIT Athletics is saying goodbye to a legendary coach. Charles was a standout as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach at NAIT. It will feel strange to not have Charles as part of our program moving forward. I would like to wish Charles all the best in the future and let him know that the department can't thank him enough for what he had done for the men's soccer program at NAIT."

Colleague and women's head coach Jeff Paulus has been named the new head coach for the NAIT Ooks men's soccer team. Paulus isn't a new name for the men's soccer program. Paulus was the head coach from 2006-2012, where the team won a CCAA silver medal in 2010 and a CCAA gold medal in 2011. 

Paulus said he is excited about his new chapter but sad to see O'Toole go, "the first thought is really wanting to pay tribute to my friend Charles for his incredibly successful ten years as head coach of this program. To see the team come together to send Charles off with a CCAA Bronze medal is special and deserving for his commitments to those athletes. Of course, when you take a program over from a friend, and when you leave one team you care deeply about to move to another, it is a bittersweet feeling. Having been able to share some incredible moments at Nationals with these lads, I am, of course, looking forward to sharing the training ground with them, and just like taking over from Carole with the women's program, and now Charles with the men, there is that anxious feeling of having to replicate the successes of two college coaching legends."

Alesha Weicker-Pasternak has accepted the head coach position for the women's team. Last season, she worked alongside Paulus as the assistant coach for the women's program. She is no stranger to the collegiate soccer level, though; she was the assistant coach for the MacEwan Griffins from 2013-2017, going undefeated in 2013 to win the CCAA national title. Presently she is the Grassroots Head Coach in the St. Albert Soccer Association.