Love of soccer leads to successful career off the pitch
For Mateo Kostering, the path to post-secondary education started on the soccer field.
Mateo started soccer at a young age, playing with his dad in their backyard from the age of three. His love of the game came from participating in the North Island Soccer League and Indigenous soccer tournaments up and down the coast of BC.
After meeting then VIU Mariners men’s coach Bill Merrim and team member Matt Mehressa at June Sports, an Indigenous soccer tournament in his hometown of Alert Bay, he was inspired. Seeing the team win a national title in 2010 also helped motivate him to pursue university studies.
“Without soccer I wouldn’t have created the network and connections I have today. Those connections were very instrumental for me when I reached out to try out for the VIU Mariners,” says Mateo. “I was inspired to push myself and play a higher level of soccer because of that team. I don’t believe I would have gone to post-secondary if it wasn’t for varsity soccer.”
Mateo graduated from VIU in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies and Physical Education. He founded the Indigenous Athletics Academy with his wife Jessica in 2024. The academy offers community-based camps and mentorship designed to support Indigenous youth develop through sport and build skills, nutrition habits, confidence and exposure to post-secondary learning opportunities. Mateo thanks Darian and Sarah Harris for their hard work during the beginning stages of IAA for helping it grow into what it is today.
Mateo still stays in touch with former classmates and professors to bounce ideas back and forth. He also uses what he learned in physical education to build and implement his academy.
“We hope to have more Indigenous athletes attending and participating in varsity sports while working towards their educational goals,” says Mateo, adding that he tells his students to be coachable and willing to take criticism and use it to their advantage.
Mateo lives in Nanaimo with his wife and three daughters, Blake, Halle and Miller. He currently works as a social worker at Kw’umut Lelum and is an assistant coach for the VIU Mariners men’s soccer team. He credits VIU Head Coach Kevin Lindo with bringing him into the assistant coaching role and helping him build that part of his life. Mateo says both his programs at VIU assisted him in his career as a social worker because they were relationship-based.
Highlights from Mateo’s time at VIU include meeting his wife Jessica, who also played varsity soccer for VIU. He also went to nationals in 2014 with the Mariners team.
“We were a brotherhood and the whole season was the most fun I ever had playing soccer,” he says.
Mateo’s advice to Indigenous students who are considering leaving their home community to get an education is to build a community of like-minded people. People who will hold you accountable with “their drive to finish their degrees and stay focused on their goals.” He acknowledges it isn’t easy and students should try to learn how to deal with conflict and struggles prior to leaving.
Read more about Mateo in this “Real Canadians” column in the National Post:
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