BIO INFO
JAY DEMERIT
Jay DeMerit has one of the most unique stories the sport of soccer has ever seen. Born & raised in Green Bay, WI, he attended the University of Illinois-Chicago and earned a degree in Industrial Design. After playing NCAA Div1, but going undrafted into Major League Soccer, Jay backpacked to Europe, slept on attic floors, and climbed the English soccer pyramid from the 12th tier to become the Captain of Watford FC in the English Premier League. He went on to represent the US Men’s National Team, playing every minute of his team's games throughout the World Cup of 2010 in South Africa. In 2011 he became the first ever signing and Captain for the Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS. He finished his career in 2014, after Captaining the Vancouver Whitecaps for four seasons.
Off the field, Jay has taken the stage at Tedx Vancouver, spoken on “Teamwork & Leadership” at a wide variety of national conferences, and has even been the keynote speaker on “Grit” at the US Soccer Federation’s annual symposium. His story was the subject of “Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story” a documentary released in 2011 after a successful kickstarter campaign where the passionate soccer community raised $223,000 to turn this important story into a feature film.
Based on the ideals portrayed throughout the film, in 2014 Jay launched Rise & Shine: Captains Camps, in the mountains of British Columbia. These Leadership workshops provide a 4 day holistic program for kids ages 13-18, teaching the “Dream BIG” mentality through a well rounded curriculum both on & off the field. Paired with an elite mentorship program, there are a number of curriculums such as Dj Camps, GenZ Leadership Camps & Soccer camps. The program also has a Charity Music Festival and an upcoming empowerment app for GenZ, partnered with EA Games.
Jay has a degree in Industrial Design, also works as the North American Ambassador for Watford FC, and enjoys co-parenting his 7yr old son Oakes :)
DANI WILSON
Dani holds a Master’s Degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from The University of British Columbia. Her Master’s Thesis Manuscript, which explores the role of self-compassion and mental toughness in the pursuit of athletic achievement and stress management in elite level, women athletes, was recently published in the journal: Psychology of Sport and Exercise. Aside from research, Dani works as a Canadian Sport Psychology Association certified
Mental Performance Consultant (MPC), where she provides a variety of team and individual sport athletes with the mental skills training and resources necessary for peak performance. She has worked with several Olympic and World Championship level athletes and varsity teams such as, UBC Women’s Golf, Rugby and Soccer, Douglas College Men’s and Women’s Basketball.
She also works as MPC for Team BC in pursuit of the Canada Summer and Winter Games. She uses a humanistic, strengths-based approach to her consulting, drawing on her strong theoretical knowledge base, experiences as an athlete herself and now, her own research. Reflecting on her experiences playing varsity soccer and basketball, mental skills training was sparsely offered.
Dani believes that when delivered in a systematic and consistent way that promotes practice, patience and persistence, mental skills have the potential to improve performance and overall wellbeing. The opportunity to offer this sort of potential to aspiring athletes is the driving force behind Dani’s passion for sport psychology. While consulting takes up her days, Dani spends her evenings fuelling her passion for music as a professional DJ and producer.
