Sydney Leroux’s mother has a narrative to tell about her daughter’s journey through Canadian soccer’s best player programs before switching allegiance to the United States, where she won Olympic and Women’s World Cup titles.

According to Leroux, the toxic training atmosphere in Vancouver prompted her daughter to choose between abandoning soccer totally and travelling to the United States to pursue a career in her father’s homeland.

At the time, the now-infamous disgraced coach Bob Birarda, who was secretly ousted from his dual duty as coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Canada Under-20 women’s teams, was the gatekeeper to success in the Canada women’s program in 2008 after allegations of abuse.

As Sydney’s exceptional talent became more publicly recognized, Leroux recalls Birarda contacting her to suggest that her teenage daughter attend his pay-to-play private academy, which is a two-hour trip from their family home. Leroux stated why her daughter wouldn’t be able to attend: “I am a single mom and I work full time.”