Dr. Cathy Campbell is one of Nova Scotia’s most beloved coaches and talented sports medicine practitioners. During the more than 40 years she has dedicated to developing Nova Scotia’s finest track athletes and Canada’s Olympic and World Cup women’s soccer teams, she has never been afraid to work hard for the benefit of her athletes.

“I think I was the first woman in the weight room at Dalhousie. There were urinals in the weight room and showers without curtains,” says Campbell, who took on the responsibility of coaching a group of young track athletes in the Atlantic Coast Club at a time when there were very few resources allocated to the sport.

Campbell spent eight years coaching the Atlantic Coast Club, which included Hall of Famer and provincial track sensation Cecilia Branch.

“Cecilia started doing well and suddenly I had 25 kids coming along,” says Campbell.

Before Branch was rated third in the country for her 100-metre hurdle time, she trained under Campbell in the winter, running laps around the snow-covered track or the wooden walkway at the top of the Dalhousie Hockey arena, where there was only enough space for two hurdles. Campbell made do with limited training space by having Branch and the other kids run up Martello Tower Hill in Point Pleasant Park carrying each other on their backs.

“She was very focused and very detailed in her coaching,” says Krisanne Crowell, one of the runners and Canada Games team members whom Campbell coached in the Atlantic Coast Club along with Branch. “She always had a clipboard and a stopwatch in hand.”

“Cathy was always encouraging no matter what the result as long as you gave your best effort,” says Crowell, who Campbell trained as the relay team anchor even though she was only 12 and much younger than the other runners.

“The time that I put in was all volunteered—two to three hours a day and most weekends [with the Atlantic Coast Club],” says Campbell.  “I was proud of the work I did with those kids.” All while competing her Physical Education and Master of Science degrees at Dalhousie.

“Track and field was my first love,” she adds. “It taught me discipline; it gave me a lot of skills that I’ve used in the rest of my life.”

Campbell transferred her disciplined work ethic to soccer when fellow Dalhousie physical education alum Kevin Pipe asked her to be team doctor for the Canadian women’s team in 2000. Working with the women’s soccer team has been the perfect opportunity for Cathy to combine her passions for sport and medicine while working one-on-one with players, a position she much prefers over administrative sport development.

She has provided her medical expertise in international soccer competition for over fourteen years, attending five FIFA Women’s World cups (WWC) as team physician and six as FIFA medical officer. She was recently appointed as FIFA General Medical Officer for the 2014 U20 WWC and 2015 WWC, making her the first North American woman to be appointed to the chief medical officer position for a World Cup event.

In 2012, Campbell developed a new Injury report system as leader of the Women’s High-Performance Team at the London Olympics. She looks back fondly on her time spent with the team at the Olympics, during which the Canadian women claimed bronze after a devastating loss to the United States.

“We all dug deep and we were very proud of that bronze medal.”

In addition to her involvement in track and field and soccer, Campbell enjoys traveling with her sister D.A. and her niece Missy Franklin, a four-time Olympic gold-medalist swimmer for the 2012 U.S. team. Campbell even had the soccer team sit around the television with her to cheer for her niece, an activity that demonstrates how much she sees the team as an extended family.

“A lot of these kids—I really watched them grow up,” says Campbell. “Christine Sinclair, I saw her play her first game.”

Campbell has always put athlete safety first, even resigning once due to concern over the lack of treatment of a concussion. She also makes herself available to team members on an “on-call” basis, always willing to answer their emails and phone calls at any time.

“She continues to be someone I consider of super-human quality,” says Crowell. Looking back at her successful career, Campbell says she owes a lot to her sister and Linda, her partner of 30 years. She is also motivated by the many athletes she has helped as a coach and doctor.

“There is nothing like the work and the hours you put in when you’re with a team.”

As of 2019, Campbell is still serving as chief medical officer and doping control officer with FIFA, setting up medical coverage for venues and helping all the team doctors, as well as doing doping control for World Cups. She most recently travelled with FIFA to Uruguay for the U17 Women’s World Cup in November 2018.

Bio Courtesy of Katie Wooler