When people first met Roy Clements, they were taken aback by his gruffness and his irascible personality. But when that was scraped away, underneath was discovered a caring man who only wanted the best for those around him.

Roy Clements brought a love for soccer from England to Canada in 1951. He was a tool and dye maker at the Rolls-Royce Company in Crew, England and continued his trace at HMC Dockyard while pioneering his favourite sport in Atlantic Canada. In 1964, he joined Saint Mary’s University and, through the next almost 40 years, became a fixture.

Kathy Mullane, Manager of Facilities, Saint Mary’s University Department of Athletics & Recreation, remembers. “His life stores, his gruff exterior, his argumentative personality, his knowledge of soccer and his care and concern for his players made him a force to be reckoned with in the department, and a major contributor to the success of the athletic program.

Known by all as ‘Coach’, Roy was the longest-serving soccer coach in the University’s history. He was there as Saint Mary’s cut its teeth on competitive sport nationally. He will always be remembered as a coach who, while cantankerous and demanding, care for his players, on and off the field.

Prior to coaching university soccer, Roy guided teams to numerous Atlantic Senior and Maritime Championships. At Saint Mary’s, he had an immediate impact by molding his first Huskies teams into league champions in 1965 and 1966. He won five league championships, two AUAA (now AUS) titles and a silver medal as Eastern Canadian CIAU (now CIS) champions. His influence on soccer spread beyond the campus. For more than 50 years, he was a valued and enthusiastic administrator who fostered the sport’s popularity, success and enormous growth. He served as the president of Soccer Nova Scotia, managed the Armed Forces League, chaired the Atlantic Universities’ Soccer Conference, was Commissioner of the Halifax Metro Soccer League and represented Nova Scotia as a delegate to the CSFA. He also initiated Junior Olympic Soccer Clinics and helped organize the Canada Games.

He was recognized as the AUAA Coach of the Year in 1978 and 1981, received the AUS Board of Directors Award for Contributions to university soccer, and a Gold M Award from the Saint Mary’s Student Association twice. He was honoured by Soccer Nova Scotia, the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, the Nova Scotia Department of Culture, Recreation, and Fitness, and Sport Nova Scotia. In 2000, he was inducted into the Saint Mary’s University Sport Hall of Fame, and in 2005, he was named Coach Emeritus by the University.

He retired from full-time coaching at Saint Mary’s in 1983 and continued to be part of the University’s athletics program for the next 20 years as game-day ticket manager. Most importantly, he continued to be a well-loved and valued mentor for the men’s and women’s soccer coaches who succeeded him.

Kate (Evans) Adams says she was a naive 17-year-old when she first met Coach Clements. “It was my first year at Saint Mary’s (1985) and I had made the soccer team. Coach took me under his wing that year and became a role model, father figure, employer, confidant and most importantly, a friend.”

Former player Kevin Downie, now a Halifax lawyer, says, “Coach was proud of the role he played off the field helping young students become valuable members of their community. He took a keen interest in his player’s academic progress and was proud of the team’s graduation record. Dozens of his players have given back to soccer at the minor, senior, university, provincial and national level.”

He passed away January 30, 2009 at age 81.

Bio Courtesy of Brett Clements