INTERVIEW – AFC Toronto’s Leah Pais was the second-ever signing in the club’s history. The 5’4″ forward and midfielder, who was born in Mississauga, Ontario, has experienced a lot in her young career playing soccer within and outside of Canada.
Leah Pais took some valuable time off her busy schedule to do an exclusive one-on-one interview with the writer of this article. In this article, many topics were discussed including her upbringing, her preferred positions, and the difficulties of moving away from family to play abroad.
Leah Pais: Growing Up and Playing Abroad (Part One)
Question #1: What was your first memory associated with soccer and how did you fall in love with the game?
I started soccer at the age of six. One of my first memories, had to be the house league games, and it held its first tournament, like close from my house, and, like my team was really good, and we started beating everyone. And there was this distinctive memory that I still have to this day, and it’s me and, like, one of my best friends on the team. Her name is Sammy, and we were standing in front of the net because the score was already 6-0, and we were deciding which one of us wanted to score. So, we kept passing the ball back and forth to each other, and we were like you scored and then you scored, and the goalkeeper, eventually came and picked it up. But for me, that was honestly one of the youngest and earliest memories of soccer I have.
I fell in love with the game because of my older brother, Brandon, and my dad as a younger sibling. I always followed in my brother’s footsteps, and it was playing football, I knew that I wanted to do the exact same thing. I just ended up being a little bit better. So, it was, it was quite an interesting path for me. I mean, always growing up with an older sibling, you tend to have more competition, and you learn how to stand on your own. So, having him and playing alongside him, especially being a boy, helped me become tough and learn things at a much quicker pace than children my own age.
Question #2: Doing research on the positions that you play, you can play both the midfield and the forward positions. Is there a preference for the positions you play, or are there strengths and weaknesses to playing at both positions?
I really like left wing. It’s been proven that I can actually score more goals with my left foot, because I can curl it better, but finesse with my right and so whenever I’m on the wing, I love to create space, but also, I love to cut in and send those through balls to any striker. So, I would have to say left winger. However, my past season in Iceland, I came to love the right side, because I would cut in and shoot with my left so pretty much either the seven or the 11, left or right winger.
Question #3: What would you say are the biggest strengths that you can bring to AFC Toronto?
I mean, I’ve had the great pleasure of playing on four different teams in the past five years, and so in each environment, I think that my passion and my determination to win and mentality is something that I was known for on the team during my time at Albany, I was one of the youngest girls on there, but I always fought hard and practiced in the weight room and in the games, I always try to be the very best I can and strive for success in anything that I’m doing. So, from an early age, I think that started, but as I went to Pittsburgh, I got into more of a leadership role.
As time went on. I wasn’t a captain but being as someone who had three years there in my senior year, I started to be a little bit more vocal and get girls on onto the same wavelength and same path that some of the seniors were on. And like, this is our final year, and this is the year to make it all happen, and kind of getting them to buy into this mentality that we have put the work in, and we have done, you know, everything we can. And so here is the time to show the NCAA what we have, and then transferring that over to Florida State.
You know, my leadership, my passion and my determination to win, that kind of showed as well coming off the bench. I think that takes a lot of maturity. And I think that whenever my name was called, I knew that it was time for me to help the team in any way that I can. So that was something for me that I showed, maturity and strength. Then heading on to Iceland, my role there was, I started out as a midfielder, but then when our striker got injured, they kind of pushed me to a Striker/Winger.
So, I would say I’m kind of like a utility player in terms of I can help almost anywhere in the front five. But also, I am a player who loves the game a lot, and I have that passion, and I have that determination to always win and always strive for success. And for me, my mentality is a big thing. So, I try to be a role model for the girls on the team, and I try to lead them and help them in any way that I can.
And so, yeah, just kind of along those lines and being a supportive teammate in any way that I can. And that’s mostly off the field, you know, but when it comes to on the field stuff, I think just being a dynamic and cheeky player is what I’m all about. And you know, expressing that with players like Jade (Jade Kovacevic) and Cloey (Cloey Uddenberg) and Croix (Croix Soto) is something that the NSL would definitely have to keep a watch on us.
Question #4: What was it like playing abroad in the U.S. and Iceland and what have you learned from your experiences?
Yeah, so I left for college at the age of 17, and I was really excited at the beginning, but no one ever warns you about like the detachment and the missed Thanksgivings, no more sleepovers. You don’t get to see your cousins as much, or, you know, no more Easter and so missing out on all those family occasions, it is hard, and you come to realize that you only have yourself at certain times. So, independence is something that I had to learn, and I had to learn it very quickly, but also is I’m a person who loves to make friends.
I can make friends anywhere, because I just find the joy in sharing experiences with people from all over the world. Like I have a friend who is Japanese. I have friends who are Jamaican, Swedish, Portuguese, Spanish, and so for me, learning how to talk to people all over my colleges and in Iceland, that was something that helped me get over that sense of loneliness, and yeah, that’s kind of what helped me grow.
But definitely learning how to control my mental aspect, and also how to be content with independence and how to learn to be okay by myself. That was something that I was never good at, and I’ve now come to love it when you continuously move on to different states, onto different teams, and then even different countries. Your friend groups are always changing, and my best friends are now American.
I’ve made so many friends in Iceland, and so that came about because I got out of my bubble, and I went to go explore the people within my community at that time. But the biggest lessons that I can take from my experiences in the US and Iceland are independence, maturity, mental and emotional growth, as well as exploring different cultures and adapting to the communities that I now reside within.
Leah Pais: The Young Canadian Midfielder/Forward From the GTA
What this writer noticed about Pais in this part of the interview is who Pais is as an individual. The reader by now has got a better understanding of what type of player Pais is, from the time she was growing up with an older brother to the many positions that she can play and to the mental aspect of playing away from family in the U.S. and Iceland. All of this illustrates the person Pais has become with the maturity she gained not just on-the-field, but off-the-field as well.
READ MORE: AFC Toronto Logo and Stadium: York Lions Stadium
It is also important to give context to the level of play Pais had when playing in the U.S. Pais was named the America East Rookie of the Year and was also named to the America East All-Rookie Team in just her rookie year with the Albany Great Danes.
Pais also earned the PNC Achievers of the Week. She also excelled academically, making the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2020-21 and 2022-23, and even made the ACC All-Academic Team in 2022 (Source: Pittsburgh Panthers). She also scored two goals while with Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur from Iceland.
Also, Marko Milanovic, AFC Toronto’s first-ever head coach, described some of the reasons why they got Pais recruited by AFC Toronto, including her competitive spirit (Source: Ontario Soccer):
“Leah’s path to this point speaks volumes about the kind of player she is. She’s determined, fiercely competitive, and has a never-say-die attitude. Her energy and tenacity will undoubtedly make a significant impact on our team this season.”
READ MORE: The Inaugural AFC Toronto Head Coach: Marko Milanovic
All of this gives an in-depth overview of Pais’ character, and how she developed into the soccer player she is now.
The second and last interview article with Pais will look at her time in detail with both Vaughan Azzurri and the Florida State Seminoles, her time playing with Jade Kovacevic, as well as what she thinks of the rise of professional women’s sports in Toronto and in general, the whole of Canada.
The interview took place on Thursday, November 28, 2024.
Photo Credit: AFC Toronto on November 20, 2024.
