Greg
James Macgregor was born in Scotland but brought up in London, England. Playing
soccer his whole life, he played his first district level competition at the age
of 9 with players three years older than himself. At the age of 13 he started to
train with Tottenham Hotspurs Soccer Club of the English Premiership, going
through their youth system playing in their youth teams. He left Tottenham at
the age of 16, deciding to sign professionally with Barnet Soccer Club, where he
made his debut in the English League three weeks after his 17th birthday. In his
first full professional season he played in 21 matches and scored 7 goals. The
following season saw him become a regular starting player and he also made his
debut in the F.A. Cup competition.After only a month of his second professional season, Macgregor sustained a serious leg injury and his future as a professional player was in doubt. After a 12-month recuperation, he decided to attend the University of North Wales to begin a degree in Psychology. Upon completion of this degree he obtained a Masters degree in Sports Psychology.
His second year of university saw him return to soccer, representing his university in national competition. Scoring 12 goals in his first season and 18 in his second, he was chosen for the Welsh Universities representative team, touring both Ireland and the Netherlands. He was then offered a contract with Bangor City to play in the National League of Wales.
However, having never fully
recovered from his original injury, the demands of the professional game became
too much. This led Macgregor to retire from soccer at the age of 23. With a year
of his Masters degree to go, Macgregor became a qualified coach and took up a
position as Assistant Coach with his University team. Realizing that his
qualifications and experience were leading him in this direction, he also earned
money while still a student by setting up his own soccer school for children.Upon leaving the UK, Macgregor spent two years teaching in Poland before coming to Canada in 1995. He began working at Concordia University soon after in the Department of Continuing Education, where he still works today.
He returned to the game of soccer only when his daughter started to show an interest in the game. This led him to volunteer as a coach with Westmount Recreation. He also began to coach the newly formed Westmount Women’s Soccer Club, which in three years now has a record of 36 wins, 5 ties and 4 losses.
Now a Canadian citizen, his expertise and experience as a high level player, his coaching qualifications, his experience as a coach of boys and girls of all ages, his academic qualifications and his teaching experience make his Soccer School one of a kind.