His perseverance and passion on the pitch have certainly paid off for Jackson MacCubbin.
The Grade 12 soccer standout from South Delta Secondary will be continuing his career at the university level next fall with the UBC Okanagan Heat.
His arrival will make it three SDSS grads with the program as midfielder Jonah Quarry and goalkeeper Jaxon Scholfield are coming off their freshman seasons.
“I was looking at schools around Western Canada and UBCO caught my eye because I had friends playing there,” explained MacCubbin who will pursue a degree in psychology. “It was definitely one of the deciding factors. During school track and field provincials back in Grade 9 I actually got to stay in the dorms there and that was a cool experience. It’s good to know in the back of my mind what it’s kind of going to look like before I have even go up there for soccer.”
MacCubbin came through the grassroots level of the former Tsawwassen Soccer Club and played at the gold level for South Delta United. It was then leaving behind his hometown to play Metro Selects with Coastal F.C. and regularly training out of South Surrey and North Delta. It wasn’t long before his efforts were recognized.
“I was there for about two-to-three months giving it my all when the coach pulled me aside and said I had potential to play for Coastal’s (B.C. Premier team),” continued MacCubbin. “So I became a practice player for them for two years, but never made the roster.”
Training full-time with two teams would eventually pave the way for other opportunities. Soon after learning he was among Coastal’s final cuts, MacCubbin requested a transfer to another B.C. Premier club, the Richmond/Vancouver-based Fusion F.C. It took him a couple of months to become a fixture in the starting 11 and last season he led the league in goals.
“That’s something I always kind of stand by: give it your all and work hard no matter what you do. In the end it worked out well,” added MacCubbin. “Everything happens for a reason.”
He was also a mainstay with the SDSS senior boys team, having made the roster in his Grade 9 year after being persuaded to come to tryouts after he got the attention of long-time coach Stephen Burns who also runs the school’s soccer academy program.
The four-year run included helping the Sun Devils reach the provincials for the first time in nearly a decade back in 2019. After seeing COVID wipe out the 2020 campaign, MacCubbin was the lone returning player this past season and took on a leadership role in his senior year that nearly culminated with another B.C. provincials berth.
