Women in sports: Taylor Bubnick

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Taylor playing soccer. Taylor Bubnick

Continuing to make a case for female athletes

The University of Regina Cougar Women’s soccer team brings forth another incredible female athlete. Center midfield Taylor Bubnick has committed much of her life to athletics. Dabbling in volleyball, basketball, track, cross-country, hockey, golf, gymnastics and swimming, she experienced a taste for a wide variety of sports. However, no matter what she tried, soccer was always what she came back to. What kept bringing her back to soccer was the foundation and joy experienced within the parameters of this sport at such a young age. Even if the final score isn’t a winning one, Bubnick can be reminded of the pleasant memories she started with. Beginning at the age of 4-years-old, her parents had the ability to manage and coach her team for a few years. This allowed for that connection to be built and for her love of the sport to become solidified. After those initial years with her parents, they stepped back to allow for her to be mentored and coached by those with more experience than themselves. Not only did she have the family love and connection, but she was also able to hone her skill and competitive edge as well.

Being a full-time student and athlete takes a lot of time and focus. Training is something that Bubnick enjoys thoroughly whether it takes place in the weight room, on the track, or on the field. The ability to build on the foundation that she has acquired over the years has allowed her to view the training aspect as enjoyable and she has fun growing as an athlete while also keeping in mind what she is working towards. Practices allow her to increase her strength, continue to refine techniques, as well as strategize and build different tactics with her team. All of these are vital to ensuring that Bubnick maintains her competitive edge and can continue to adequately support her team on the field. As one can imagine this takes a lot of dedication and time to ensure she can give her all in each and every session. Meaning that Bubnick must remain strict with her priorities to ensure that her team, her health nor her academics suffer as a result.

Bubnick’s life involves more than just balancing schoolwork and athletics. To maintain her overall wellness, she needs to take time to ensure that she is continuously getting a good quality rest, which is not always easy but keeps her from feeling rundown and drained. As is important for all of us, Bubnick fuels her body with nutritious food and being conscientious about staying hydrated even when she is not currently training. It is not just what she needs to do in order to stay in top condition but also what she should not do as well. Being able to take time to do nothing and relax is just as important as keeping on top of all the tasks she has. Doing what it takes to keep yourself in top performance is important, no matter what that looks like for you.

As with many sports, Bubnick has noticed that there is a bias that supports men more than women when we look at the professional world of soccer. Playing professional soccer as a woman in Canada is something that is virtually unheard of and can be very disheartening to many athletes. Those, like Bubnick, who are playing at an extremely high level as representatives of their universities will have nowhere to advance to after convocation. These strong and accomplished women will have to play in community leagues whereas men have the opportunity to be drafted and continue to play at high skill levels.

Although this is a tough reality, Bubnick does not let this get her down. She has worked on reframing her mentality and focusing on the things that she can control which is her performance here and now. Focusing on the way she pushes herself in her training, performing to her highest level when competing, carrying herself proudly as a female athlete and promoting the sport to other females. It is not about what we cannot do moving forward, but rather the paths we have the chance to open up for others.

All of her hard work has certainly paid off as Bubnick has gotten some once in a lifetime opportunities during her sporting career. During her final year of high school she had the chance to move to Wales, United Kingdom where she played for the Swansea City Ladies. While there she earned a spot as a starter in the Welsh Women’s Premiere League (WWPL) cup final where her team took home gold. If that is not impressive enough in 2019 she earned a spot on the QC United UWS team where she was able to compete against the Calgary Foothills, LA Galaxy, Santa Clarita Blue Heat and Colorado Pride.

Achieving success is something that is up to nobody else but yourself. Set your eyes on something you want and keep pushing till you get it. Once you get it keep pushing to become even better at it. There are going to be so many people who tell you that you cannot achieve the success that you are after and just as many are going to try and steal those dreams away from you. Protect your dreams and shield them from the world if you must. Your dedication to yourself and to what you want will prove all of them wrong and give you something to be so proud of. Whether it takes weeks, months or even years do not let anyone ever tell you that it will not be worth it.

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