The Girl Who Got Bribed with a Pink Chair

Alix Boogemans didn't fall in love with soccer on her own. She was bribed into it.

When she was seven, her dad wanted her to play a sport. So he pointed at this pink chair she'd been obsessing over and made her a deal: start playing soccer, and the chair is yours.

She got the chair. And now, ten years later, soccer is her life.

That might sound like one of those cute kid stories that doesn't really mean anything. But it actually tells you a lot about the Boogemans family, and how integrated they are with soccer. Her dad didn't just get her started. He became her rock, the reason she was so driven to succeed. Alix feels her dad's love through the sport. Her brother Oliver was a role model who helped her see what commitment looks like. Her mom Erin, who started as a personal trainer, became Fusion FC's Strength and Conditioning Coach. Oliver played for Fusion's 2006 boys BCSPL team.

The pink chair was just the beginning. The whole family went all in.

Richmond Roots

Before Fusion, before the provincial team, before any of it, there was the Richmond Girls Soccer Association.

Alix started playing soccer at RGSA around age seven, and it didn't take long for people to notice her. Her first real soccer memory is Brent Branker, now Fusion FC's Grassroots Technical Director, inviting her to play seven-a-side with his 2007 team. She was a 2008, playing up a year with girls who were older and bigger. He put her at striker and gave her one instruction: stay in the centre circle unless the ball is on top of you.

She did exactly that.

"At halftime I remember him being mad, but then saying, 'But Alix is doing exactly what she should do,'" she remembers. "So I was like, nice, I'm good at this."

That was the start of a relationship with Branker that lasted her entire career. He coached her from those first RGSA days, through the transition to Fusion FC, and now, years later, she's coaching young girls alongside him. Full circle.

"He made me feel like I had something special," Alix says. "And so I went with that. And I got here."

The Fusion Family

When Alix was about 11 or 12, she went through intake trials for Fusion FC's BCSPL program. Her brother Oliver was already playing for the club, which gave her an early connection, but she still had to earn her spot. Two trial sessions, games format, and they took 18 kids.

She's been there ever since. Five seasons in the BCSPL with the same core group. Others joined along the way: Paige and Keira came over from TSS, while Naomie and Tessa Langelaan moved up when their younger team folded. Together, they built something.

Stella wears number 13 and captains the side. Roma is the goalkeeper who shows up early to every session to put in extra work. "She's amazing. You can just see the focus in her."

But it's not just the players who make Fusion feel different. It's the coaches.

John Ribero, their head coach, cried through the entire provincial finals. Before the game, he couldn't even give his pre-match speech without breaking down.

"It's so clear that the coaches absolutely care," Alix says. "Here, the coaches are like friends with the players."

That culture isn't an accident. It runs through the whole organization, from the grassroots programs up through the BCSPL teams. And for Alix, it's been the foundation for everything that came after.

The Engine

First Touch Football Canada called Alix "the engine of the team" during their coverage of the 2025 BCSPL Provincial Cup Final. They wrote that she dictates tempo, controls possession, handles set pieces, and has a high completion rate.

That's a lot of words for what you see when you actually watch her play: she doesn't stop.

"One thing that makes me stand out is my intensity, my work ethic," she says.

At 5'6", she's one of the shorter players on the pitch. But what catches opponents off guard isn't her size. It's how aggressive and strong she is despite it.

"People don't expect it because of my size," she says. "I'm one of the shortest girls on my team."

In 2023, she put up 17 goals and 6 assists in 11 BCSPL league games as a midfielder. Not a striker. A midfielder. She scored the opening goal that ultimately won them the game in the provincial final against Surrey United. That win secured her team a spot at nationals.

The provincial team coaches saw the same thing when they selected her for the BC Soccer Provincial Program in both 2023 and 2024. They told their players they should be the best player on the field every time they step on it. Alix took that literally.

Playing Everywhere, Adapting to Everything

One of the things that separates Alix from a lot of young players is just how many different environments she's played in. Not just Fusion. Not just one system. She's been thrown into unfamiliar situations over and over, and every time, she's figured it out.

At RGSA, she played up with the 2007s as a little kid. At Fusion, she joined the BCSPL at 11. She spent two years at Volf Soccer Academy doing extra technical training with older girls on a rooftop in Vancouver, working on her touch in a German-style program. She played up with Fusion's 2007 BCSPL team in 2024. She played with the BC Soccer Provincial Program in 2023 and 2024, training alongside the best players in the province. She was called up to play League1 BC with Altitude, getting the opportunity to suit up alongside some players from the UBC women's team. She went to Austria for three months at 15 years old, playing in a different system with a different language.

And in every one of those situations, she adjusted.

"All the different things I've done have given me the quality of adaptability," she says. "I played in Austria where I didn't know the system, or language. It was a challenge to adapt, but I managed. Adaptability is one of my strong suits."

When asked where on the field she'd feel uncomfortable playing, she laughs.

"Probably goalkeeper, that's about it. I'd be comfortable playing anywhere."

Adapting Her Game

When Alix was selected for Team BC Women's Soccer ahead of the 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John's, Newfoundland, she faced a challenge that had nothing to do with talent. The provincial team played a different style than what she'd grown up with at Fusion, and the coaching staff told her straight up: adjust or you might not make the final roster.

The provincial team emphasized possession, building from the back, and trusting the pass. It was a different approach than what Alix was used to, and it required her to expand her game.

"Trusting your teammates was a big thing I had to learn," she says.

So she adapted. She connected the simple passes. She learned that playing backwards was okay. She let the game come to her instead of forcing it. It's the same adaptability she'd been building her whole career, from playing up with older girls at RGSA, to adjusting to a new country in Austria, to fitting into different systems at the Provincial Program.

She made the team. And by the end of the tournament, she got to wear the captain's armband.

How Quickly It Can Disappear

Three weeks before Team BC was set to leave for Newfoundland, Alix went down in a training game with a third-degree ankle sprain.

"Swollen up to here. All purple," she says. "My foot was chubby."

She wasn't about to let an amazing opportunity slip away just like that. She'd worked all summer to earn her spot, and the determination kicked in immediately.

"I worked hard and I got back. And when I got back, I worked even harder than before. Because I realized I can't take this opportunity for granted. I made the team, but then I realized how quickly it can be taken away."

She put in the work, got healthy, and came back ready.

Canada Summer Games and PDP Nationals

The training camp leading up to the Canada Summer Games ran all summer. Every day, two hours, at the Town Centre fields. The team bonded instantly.

Their coach played a big role in that experience. He built a strong connection with the group through months of preparation. And then, right before they left for Newfoundland, it was announced he wouldn't be coming with the team. It was upsetting news, but the team carried on.

At the tournament, they opened with a 9-0 win over Northwest Territories. Their second game was a 1-0 loss to Quebec in what turned out to be the decisive match of the round robin. Quebec went on to finish second overall. If BC had won that game, they would have had a good opportunity for a medal.

That's the nature of a round robin. One loss can take you to the final or drop you to fifth.

When BC's captain picked up two yellow cards and was suspended for the final group game, the coaching staff chose Alix to wear the armband.

In the last match, she scored twice in a 3-2 win, combining with Burnaby FC's Julie Dirom, who she had instant chemistry with from the start of the tournament. The two had played against each other for years but never spoken until Team BC brought them together. "We instantly clicked, becoming close friends," Alix says. "We have so much chemistry on the field." They still remain close friends today even after returning to their own paths. Dirom scored the winner. Both Alix and striker Allie Turnbull were named to the tournament's second All-Star team.

Off the field, the Summer Games experience was something she'll never forget. Athletes from every sport trading provincial pins between the dorms at Memorial University. The PEI potato pin was her favorite.

"It was basically just like one big community," she says. "Even though we're all going against each other, it was like, we're all here, we all made it."

From St. John's, Alix didn't go home. She went straight to the PDP National Championships with Fusion, still taping her ankle for every game. Two weeks away from home, two different teams, two different tournaments.

At PDP, Fusion competed against the best U17 programs in Canada and landed in FTF Canada's national rankings. They made it to the semi-finals before falling to Coquitlam Metro-Ford on a late goal after 80 minutes of 0-0 soccer. Some of those Metro-Ford players had just been Alix's teammates on Team BC days earlier.

In the span of one summer, Alix adapted her game for a new team, came back from a third-degree ankle sprain, captained her province, scored twice in her final game, earned All-Star honors, and helped Fusion reach the national semi-finals.

Not Just a Coach

There's a name that keeps coming up when Alix talks about her path: Jason Jordan.

Jordan is Fusion FC's Technical Director and a former professional who played at the highest levels of soccer. For Alix, he's been more than a club connection. He's been more than a coach, an adult figure she is always learning from. Lots of guidance and opportunities have come her way because of him.

Jordan got her the opportunity to go to Austria. He opened doors early in her career when she was still just a kid. He's been a constant presence, even if direct advice isn't really his style.

"He doesn't really give advice directly. It's not his personality. But so many of my opportunities, he's helped me get."

Combined with Branker's influence from her earliest days, John Ribero's emotional investment as her BCSPL coach, and a family that's been behind her every step of the way, Alix has been surrounded by people who care about her development as a player and as a person.

Why MacEwan

By this point, Alix had played under more systems, in more environments, and alongside more teams than most players twice her age. She'd been to Austria, played a year up with older girls, trained with the provincial program, suited up in League1 BC, and represented her province at the Canada Summer Games. She knew what she wanted.

UBC was the obvious choice for a BC player. She'd already played with their League1 team and knew the program well. But that familiarity was part of why she looked elsewhere.

"I wanted something new," she says. "I didn't want to just stay with what I knew. I want to create my own path."

MacEwan University in Edmonton came calling early, offering her a spot in Grade 10. She wasn't ready then. But the coach, Cordeiro, and Alix reconnected years later, and he painted a picture that matched exactly what she was looking for.

"He told me I would be a great addition to the team and make contributions from the start, and I believed him. I know I can do it."

She has family about an hour from Edmonton, which helps. And she plans to study psychology, with a goal of eventually working in a correctional facility. MacEwan's undergraduate program gives her the foundation she needs before pursuing a PhD elsewhere.

The Austria experience actually helped crystallize the decision. In 2023, at 15, she spent three months living away from her family, cooking her own meals, going to school, and playing soccer on the other side of the world. Brianna Langelaan was her roommate. She grew from the experience and proved she could handle it, but being that far from home for that long made it clear she wanted to stay closer to family for university.

"That was fun. I did that. I don't want to do that for four years."

MacEwan is far enough to be new, close enough to not feel alone, and the right fit for a player who wants to create something of her own.

The Last Trip

When we talked, Alix had two games left in her final season with Fusion playing in the Women's Premier League. The team was heading to Vancouver Island for one last trip together before everyone went their separate directions.

"It's quite sad," she says. "We're all realizing it's the end."

Five seasons with the same core group. Provincial champions. National competitors. Ranked among the top clubs in Canada. Nine of 18 players with university commitments across NCAA Division 1, Division 2, and USports programs. A team that wasn't just good, but close.

Building the Future

Her brother Oliver is still at the club, coaching games and sessions as he works toward becoming a personal trainer himself. The Boogemans family at Fusion goes deeper than just one player.

Alix is already coaching alongside Branker, working with younger players coming up through the Fusion system. My son Reid is one of them. Oliver does the same. The two of them are putting back into the club that helped build them.

What She'd Tell Them

When asked for advice, Alix doesn't overthink it.

"The best advice I can give is just take all the opportunities. All the opportunities I got, I took them. And I went into them open-minded."

She's thought about this. The skill came naturally, she says. But the mentality? That's the part you have to build.

"Don't compare yourself to your teammates and the people you play against. It's the same thing in life. Just don't compare yourself to people. Just enjoy what you're doing."

The pink chair probably isn't around anymore. But everything it started is just getting going.