Ottawa Citizen: Steve Nash is among the best basketball players of all time. Small by the game's standards at 6-3, he has fast feet, fast hands, remarkable hand-eye co-ordination and a superlative reading of the game.
So what's this Order of Canada boy from British Columbia doing shilling for the Canadian Soccer Association?
Soccer: Pass It On is a justintroduced 30-second public service announcement that mixes soccer stars Christine Sinclair and Julian de Guzman with Nash to encourage Canadians to share the passion.
"It was an easy decision to get involved," he explained in an email exchange. "I'm just really excited about the growth of the sport. I hope more and more kids at a young age have the access and interest to start playing. Being a part of a team sport can teach a person so many life lessons they can use as a child all the way into adulthood."
Too right.
The power of the game is dear to Nash's heart. So much so that he's established his Steve Nash Foundation aimed at fostering healthy kids who might otherwise be passed by because of poverty, illness, abuse or neglect.
"Why is soccer so important to you," I asked?
His reply is heartfelt: "It's such a passion of mine and has been for as long as I can remember. Being a young kid and being able to play with my friends and family was such a great part of my childhood."
The family influence surfaces continuously. His parents came from North London - Tottenham to be exact - which accounts for the Nash family being addicted to Premier League Spurs.
Dad John Nash played professionally in South Africa, which is where Steve was born in 1974.
They moved to Regina when he was 18 months old, by which time the word "goal" was a part of his vocabulary. Then it was on to Vancouver and Victoria.
Soccer became part of life for Nash, his younger brother Martin - who played 38 times for Canada - and his sister Joann, one-time University of Victoria captain.
Some say Steve was a better player than Martin and he has modestly suggested he would also have played for his country. However, he tells me: "My brother is definitely better than me, no question!"
He didn't decide to pick up rather than kick the ball for sport until he was in Grade 8, but even switching to hoops from goals never dimmed his passion for soccer and, in particular, his beloved Spurs.One more thing for anyone who is still wondering why Nash is such a passionate advocate for soccer: He was an original investor in the Women's Professional League, which launched in 2009 and he is part owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Nash has soccer as well as basketball DNA running through him so it is absolutely justified to ask for his take on where the game is going in this country.
"Canadian soccer is improving immensely, with having three Major League Soccer teams to the growth of academy structures, soccer is really developing at the grassroots level," he says.
What's most important to growth? "Exposure and access ... whether it's providing more kids the opportunity to play, or more exposure of the professional franchises, it's important to keep building on the groundwork."
