Meet Fergus Hall + Away Game Preview

This Sunday, NUFC heads to the mainland to face  the TSS Rovers. On the men’s side, the Rovers currently sit in second place in the league. We caught up with veteran men’s player Fergus Hall and he filled us in on how the lads are feeling after an exciting first few weeks:

Captain Fergus Hall

Meet Fergus Hall

Fergus Hall has played for NUFC’s BCPL squad since the beginning. Originally from Campbell River, Hall attended St. FX in Nova Scotia for university. Despite heading to the east coast for school, Hall came back every summer to play on the island - 4 years of pro-am soccer, 3 of which he has been the men’s captain. His island roots remain strong - check out this article the Campbell River Mirror put out about him last April. After graduating last spring with an advanced major in management and leadership and a minor in sport management, Hall moved back to the island. 

Ryan Connerty, NUFC’s player promotion intern, sat down with Fergus for a radio interview:

What are some of the biggest differences from when you started as a player to where you are now? Personally, as a team, etc.

I’ve definitely grown a lot personally, moving from being a young guy on the team into having more of a leadership role now. It’s been a good adjustment for me and there’s been lots of learning along the way. As a team, we’ve seen a lot of change - we’ve had some ups and downs throughout the years, but we have a good core group of five or six guys that have been here for at least 3 years now, which is really nice. We’re starting to build up more of a core that returns every year. Last weekend, we started to see some of the results of that. We’re starting to become a really cohesive team. 

We’re 4 weeks into this season. Is there anything you’ve been surprised about with this group? Anything you weren’t expecting this season?

How quickly we’ve come together. Like I said, we do have ten to twelve returning players, but then also ten or more coming in and it’s been great to see how quickly we’ve become a super close knit team. It’s benefitting us already and will continue to do so throughout the season. 

Your win against Kamloops: what clicked?

More time together definitely helped and before the game, we spoke about putting a full game together. The Whitecaps and the game before that, we played really well, but there were a few minutes where we lacked concentration and it cost us, so for this game [against Kamloops FC], we said, 100% focus the entire game - no lapses of concentration. I think that was the biggest difference. It showed. They barely had a chance the whole game. We were able to put the full game together with no moments where we were lazy. 

Do you think this win will be key for season momentum?

100%. I think the Whitecaps game was a really good momentum builder even though we ended up losing. The atmosphere of the game was great, we scored some great goals - I think that really built momentum. To build on that with a win, I think we’re just going to continue to go up from here. 

The Whitecaps game had an incredible atmosphere, it was absolutely packed. What kind of difference does that make for you guys as a team?

It makes a huge difference. It adds so much energy to the game, it energizes me for sure. Having all the kids - I’m always trying to set a good example, but even more so, I’m trying to set a good example on the field and do all the right things, say all the right things, so that they want to be in my shoes one day and they aspire to be exactly where we are right now, which is the coolest part. 

This upcoming week, you’re over against the Rovers, who are currently at the top of the table. How do you think Nanaimo might be able to surprise such a team?

I think the quality that we have - I don’t think they’ll see that coming. I think we’ve improved a lot from last year in pretty much every facet of the game. They’ll have a lot to deal with next weekend. We’ll see if they’re ready for it!

Follow the game live on the PSLC app! The women’s game starts at 1 PM and the men follow at 3:30 PM. Let the weekend’s action begin!