EDMONTON -- A 15-year-old Edmonton goalkeeper has signed with a prestigious British soccer program that has links to the Premier League's Chelsea F.C., becoming the first international student to do so.
Calais Butts has been guarding a soccer net since she was 10 years old and playing the game since she was five.
Now, a new two-year program offered by a private school just north of Plymouth, England will give her a chance to grow her talent for stopping a ball and could lead to a much higher level of play.
"She's a completely different person when she takes the pitch."
An observation from a father about to see his teenaged daughter chase her dream of becoming a professional soccer player; by moving half a continent and an ocean away.
Shaughn Butts calls it a potential "once in a lifetime opportunity."
"They're not gonna ask twice," Calais' father told CTV News Edmonton.
The Mount Kelly Boarding and Day School's Girls' Performance and Football program was started by former professional soccer player and now-coach Tommy Wheeldon Sr.
"Chelsea jumped right in on it," Wheeldon told CTV News Edmonton. "They want to be known throughout the world...They want the brand put out there, so it fits in.
"They're quite keen to look at internationals coming across, so we're opening the doors for them."
It's those open doorways that Calais hopes to walk through.
"I think I've always known that I wanted to go away," she told CTV News Edmonton.
"It just kind of came over suddenly and I was like, 'This is my chance.'"
The young goalkeeper will be only one of 16 players from across the U.K. and around the world to be accepted to the new elite soccer program.
Growing up in Edmonton, her aspirations of becoming a pro in her sport have always been supported by her family and coaches.
"I've always had kind of this great support behind me that have built me up to this point and I think it was time to just see what else I could face in another country."
The 15-year-old says she tried other sports in her life, but always came back to soccer.
"I think soccer has always been kind of this thing that I've been in love with," she said, "and I don't think anything can take that away."
Wheeldon's program in England was originally supposed to make its debut in 2020, but with concerns over COVID-19, that start date was pushed back to fall of this year.
Perhaps a good thing for Calais. The tryout she was offered last year was cancelled, but when the opportunity came up again in 2021 she and her family took a closer look.
"This scout here in Edmonton has known about Calais for a number of years and thought she was a good candidate," her father said.
That scout told Wheeldon and his team about Calais. They looked into her further and suffice to say, liked what they saw.
"She's a good footballer," said Wheeldon. "Besides being a goalkeeper, she can play with her feet as well. And she's brave and we also like the background, the intelligence, you know the personality."
The girls in Wheeldon's program will take six trips to London per year, getting a chance to show off their skills at the home of Chelsea F.C.
Calais says being the first international student to sign with the program didn't give her pause, adding it will be a good way to prepare for her goal of turning pro.
"The reality is that I'm always going to be kind of a new person on the squad, even going to University, and so it's just a good stepping stone for later in my life."
"There is nothing like this in Canada really," Calais' father said. "Where a school, a high level school, is attached to a pro club."
The rising soccer star will be attending Mount Kelly on a partial scholarship. She'll head to the U.K. in August.
"I'm very excited to go," she said. "I'm hoping for the full experience."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Bill Fortier
