Duncan
Managing Director and League1 Men's Head Coach

Duncan Wilde

Duncan Wilde has been a major figure in Canadian soccer for more than three decades. Arriving in Canada from his native England in 1988, he immediately made an impact in the soccer world.

In 1989, Wilde launched Premier Soccer Academy, the first academy to be registered in Ontario. As Premier Soccer Academy flourished, enjoying success after success under Wilde’s leadership, his reputation and influence continued to grow in parallel.

By 2003, Wilde was appointed Head Coach of the professional side Hamilton Thunder, leading them to the CPSL Western Conference Championship in his first season at the helm.

In the following year 2004, Wilde was appointed as the Head Coach of the Toronto Lynx competing in USL Pro, the top North American professional soccer league at the time.

In support of the Lynx, the Oakville Blue Devils were also established by Wilde in 2005 and went on to win the CPSL National Championship in their lone season.

Wilde’s love for the sport was cultivated from an early age in the Greater Manchester area from which he hails. After having the opportunity to represent his country playing for England Schoolboys, Wilde continued his youth career in the Manchester United Academy, eventually playing for Manchester United Reserves. His career included playing for Shrewsbury Town, Burnley, Manchester United and Everton.

When his playing days came to an end, it was coaching that proved to be the spark for the next chapter of Wilde’s career. After joining the Lynx in 2004, Wilde enjoyed many successful years with the Lynx organization including establishing and eventually owning, with his good friend and partner Billy Steele, the Toronto Lynx Academy. In all, Wilde’s career with the Lynx included serving as Head Coach of the Toronto Lynx USL Pro side from 2004 to 2007, Head Coach of the Toronto Lynx USL/PDL team, and Academy Director of the Toronto Lynx Academy.

The Lynx youth academy was extremely successful under the guidance of Wilde and Steele, playing in the Super Y League in the United States from 2007 to 2014. In that span they went to seven Super Y League North American Finals, four Super20 North American Finals, while sending hundreds of players on to college scholarships, professional careers and national team success.

In 2015, Wilde and Steele re-established Oakville Blue Devils FC with a men’s team competing in League1 Ontario and immediately won the 2015 League1 Championship in their first year, as well as becoming 2015 Inter-Provincial Champions.

Success has followed success for Wilde, Steele and the Blue Devils with the men’s team winning the 2017 League1 Ontario Championship, making the club the first-ever League1 club in history to earn a berth in the Canadian Championship. The Blue Devils Academy was established in 2017, with the Blue Devils League1 women’s team making its debut the following year. The men’s, women’s and reserve teams all won the regular season championship in 2019, and the Academy has grown into one of the best in Canada. For his part, Wilde was named League1 Ontario Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2019 while still serving as the Head Coach of the Blue Devils Academy.

Billy
Managing Director and League1 Reserves Men's Head Coach

Billy Steele

William McCallum 'Billy' Steele was born in Kirkmuirhill, Lanark on the 16th of June 1955. He was a tidy, dapper midfielder who played for Norwich City at a young age and was capped for Scotland Youth several times, but had his footballing career cruelly taken from him through injury just as he was getting established in the side.

Having moved down to the Nuneaton area during his school years, the Canaries spotted him in junior football and signed him as an apprentice in 1971 aged just sixteen. Two years later he signed professional forms. His first team début was a baptism of fire - the 1973 East Anglian Derby against Ipswich Town at Carrow Road. It was in the earliest days of John Bond's reign as City manager, and keen to shake things up, he threw young Billy into the mix after good performances for the Reserves team. It almost worked - the small framed Scotsman hit the bar in the first half, giving Ted MacDougall the chance to hit home the rebound for a one
goal lead. Unfortunately Ipswich Town hit back after the break to win 2-1.

Billy played again three days later in the 1-1 Manchester City, but it was a difficult period at Carrow Road for a young professional to make his mark. His early professional career was marked by ups and downs. Eventually City fans started to see more and more signs of Steele's talents. The midfielder never had a hair out of place when he lined up at the start of a match, but always put in an industrious shift, and slowly his efforts were more appreciated.

The 1976-77 campaign was his real breakthrough season. Billy took his place alongside the exalted Martin Peters and the marvelous Colin Suggett, and increasingly played his part with neat touches and awareness. He missed a few games with niggling injuries but still managed 36 appearances in all competitions, scoring in the away defeats at Birmingham City and then at Everton. But in the very next game at Villa Park, tragedy struck. Billy Steele twisted his knee in a fall.

The incident ended his career as a professional player. The coming months saw four unsuccessful operations plus other numerous attempts at surgery to fix his injury. In the end he devastatingly had to call time on his career, aged just 24, with Norwich hosting a testimonial game with Norwich city playing England with guest players Bobby Moore, Jimmy Greaves and a no show George Best.

Following his playing career, Billy eventually moved to Canada in 2001, and in 2004 returned to the game as Assistant Coach with the Toronto Lynx Soccer Club. His son Aaron was a schoolboy player at Norwich in 2001, but also emigrated to Canada.

Alongside his good friend and coaching partner Duncan Wilde, Billy helped to steer the Lynx to many years of success in USL Pro, USL/PDL and helping to establish the Toronto Lynx Academy.

In 2015, Billy and Duncan re-established the Blue Devils as a League1 Ontario men’s team, enjoying incredible success including the 2015 League1 Championship in their first year, as well as becoming 2015 Inter-Provincial Champions.

Success has followed success for Billy, Duncan and the Blue Devils with the men’s team winning the 2017 League1 Ontario Championship, making the club the first-ever League1 club in history to earn a berth in the Canadian Championship. The Blue Devils Academy was established in 2017, with the Blue Devils League1 women’s team making its debut the following year. The men’s, women’s and reserve teams all won the regular season championship in 2019, and the Academy has grown into one of the best in Canada.

Each year, Billy still travels with Academy teams and returns to his beloved Norwich to play matches and experience a proper football Sunday at Carrow Road.

"When the Sun Comes Out in Norwich"
Sung by Billy Steele
Words and Music by Peter Monk © 2012

Kim
SENIOR OPERATIONS MANAGER

kim Ashton

Kim Ashton is the Senior Operations Manager for Blue Devils FC. With more than 20 years of experience at every level of the sport from junior age groups to League1 Ontario, she is one of the most talented and experienced senior managers in Canadian soccer.

Kim’s career began in 1999 in Manager roles at Dixie Soccer Club (1999-2004, Manager U9-U13) and Erin Mills Soccer Club (2005-007, Manager U13-U15 OYSL). In 2005, Kim then assumed the role of Head of Administration for the South Region Soccer League and Peel Halton Men’s Soccer League. For two years until 2007, she was responsible for the financial accounting, discipline, scheduling and reporting the Board of Directors of what was, at the time, the largest league in Ontario.

In 2007, Kim moved to the Toronto Lynx Soccer Club in order to oversee the daily operations of the club. Working alongside Duncan Wilde and Billy Steele, Kim handled virtually every aspect of club operations – financial accounting, marketing, website development and maintenance, travel management for Lynx teams playing in the Super Y League as well as for college showcases and tours, uniform ordering, field acquisitions, registrations, and the overall supervision of all the Toronto Lynx teams, including the club’s teams competing in the W League team and PDL. Kim also served as the primary liaison between the Toronto Lynx and Toronto District Soccer Association and Ontario Soccer.

In 2015, when Duncan and Billy established the Oakville Blue Devils League1 Ontario men’s team, Kim stepped into oversee the daily operations. Since then, she has been instrumental in the growth of Blue Devils FC, helping to manage the Blue Devils Academy and the League1 Men’s and Women’s teams, while serving as the primary Operations Manager for the Club’s Competitive division.

Blue Devils Dino Lopez
Program Advisor

Dino Lopez

Born in Jamaica, Dino Lopez grew up in Mississauga and now currently resides in Oakville. Dino enjoyed a successful eight-year professional playing career that included the Toronto Blizzard and Montreal Impact. He also represented Canada on the national team.

Following his playing career, Dino embarked on a coaching career, working with both male and female players of all ages for more than two decades. He holds a USSF A License and B License, and is a former Coach and Technical Director at Oakville SC. Dino developed and coached in the Toronto FC Juniors and Pre-Academy Program (U6 to U13). Following his time launching Toronto FC Juniors, he worked as an Assistant TFC Academy coach for U15 and Senior Academy, and then serving as TFC Head Coach U19 and TFC Assistant Academy Director.

Dino believes in training that leaves players smiling and sweaty. Hard work and enjoyment need to go hand in hand. He holds a strong belief in age-appropriate player development that prioritizes game realism and promotes technical/tactical problem-solving based on the constraints of time, space and personal attributes. Dino will be serving as a Program Advisor for the Blue Devils.