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Sadie Waite, who grew up in St. Thomas and played for the Whitecaps and FC London in the Forest City, is just getting started in her pro career – in her home country.
She plays with poise and an equilibrium that has seen her succeed wherever she’s competed – from her beginnings in St. Thomas, to London, to the University of Nebraska.
And now, Sadie Waite finds herself in the pros.
Following a four-year career with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a Division I program in the Big Ten Conference, Waite signed a two-year contract with Ottawa Rapid FC of the Northern Super League. Signing on New Year’s Day, she was the first player announced by the Rapid for the 2026 season, year two of the upstart NSL Canadian professional league.
A midfielder, Waite racked up 73 appearances (68 starts) at Nebraska, recording eight goals and 10 assists. She broke out during her sophomore season, after which she represented Canada at the U20 World Cup in Colombia. In year two as a Cornhusker, she had four goals and five assists and helped Nebraska achieve a program-best third Elite Eight appearance, as well as a Big Ten regular season championship.
“We set a really high goal for ourselves and wanted to do whatever we could to achieve that,” said Waite about her sophomore campaign. “I was so grateful to do it with that group of girls. It was such an incredible experience to win the Big Ten and go far in the tournament.”
Flash forward three years and she’s now enjoying her first pro experience. And with the NSL season only recently underway, the 21-year-old Waite has already made her presence known.
* * *
Soccer wasn’t always the game plan. As with many young Canadians, Waite’s first passion was on the ice.
“I was honestly more competitive in hockey,” she said. “But I got a bit burned out with it, and I wanted to switch it up and see if I wanted to take soccer more seriously. I had a bunch of really good coaches who were super supportive.”
Around age 11, she made the decision to focus more on soccer. At the time, she began playing with London’s Whitecaps program. From there, she moved on to play for FC London’s women’s team in League1 Ontario (now the OPL), at just 16 years old. In 2022, she was named a league U18 All-Star. Her talents identified, she entered the prestigious NDC Ontario program, formerly known as Regional EXCEL (REX).
“There are a lot of opportunities presented through that program,” said Waite. “There are a lot of great coaches, and a lot of development. It was super cool to play with some of the biggest stars right now for Canada, like Jade Rose and Jade Riviere, as well as my current teammate [Florence Belzile], who I also played with at Nebraska. We met through that program.”
Her recruitment to U.S. colleges was heavily interfered with by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented her from taking part in any in-person visits. But she made it work.
“Unfortunately, it was during COVID, so I wasn’t able to go and visit the school, but [John Walker] is an amazing coach and showed me around via FaceTime … the program and the campus,” said Waite.
Walker is a fellow Canadian who hails from Kingston, Ontario and attended Queen’s University. He played soccer there and eventually served as an assistant coach under his father until 1994, when he was hired as Nebraska’s first and only coach.
The Canadian connection went beyond the coach. As Waite mentioned, Belzile, her teammate at NDC Ontario, was already at the school and helped her throughout the recruitment process. When the St. Thomas native finally did get to visit the school in the fall of her Grade 12 year, she fell in love instantly.
“It was truly the best three and a half years down there,” she said. “I loved every single second of it, and I’m super grateful for my time there.”
Looking back, Waite says she was able to achieve two of her biggest goals.
“Playing [Division I] and making the national team were two of my big goals for soccer, and I truly wouldn’t have been even close to doing that without Nebraska,” she said. “That helped prepare me enough to go in there [with the U20 national team] and perform. It was friendlies against Germany and the U.S., and I think I had a pretty good performance, which led me to get named to the roster for the World Cup.”
* * *
When Waite first got to university, the thought of playing professional soccer wasn’t really in the picture. Her main goal was playing for the national team. The NSL, after all, was early in its planning stages.
But as her college career progressed, so did the NSL and its creation as an option for Canadian to play professionally in their home country.
“The NSL started to develop and really become a huge success,” said Waite. “I started looking more seriously into maybe pursuing the opportunity of playing professionally after school.”
With the new league on the horizon, Waite performed at her highest level to try and get the attention of some Canadian teams.
Ottawa came calling.
“I was just so grateful to get this opportunity,” she said. “So far, it’s been such an incredible experience. It’s a bit nice being closer to home as well, and we’ve been having some success so far. It’s been super cool to play professionally back home.”
Through their first five matches, Ottawa Rapid FC is 3-2, good for second place in the six-team league behind Montreal Roses FC. Their 13 goals are a league best. Waite has scored two of those goals. Her first pro marker came in a 4-0 home win over Calgary Wild FC on May 2. Her second was a highlight reel goal – which earned her NSL Goal of the Week honours – in a 2-0 win over Halifax Tides FC on May 13.
In NCAA soccer, due to the school year schedule and weather constraints, seasons are short, only playing from late summer to early November. Teams pack in 18 to 22 matches during that time, plus additional games depending on how well a team does during the season and postseason.
The NSL campaign, meanwhile, which started at the end of April, will run much longer, wrapping up in mid-November to make it roughly seven months. In other words, it will be a longer season than Waite is used to.
“In college, it’s very condensed, playing two games a week in a couple-month span, even though you’re training all the time,” she said. “Here, it’s a much longer season, so that will be one of the bigger transitions for me.”
The St. Thomas native says that growing up she rarely travelled past Toronto, mainly staying between Windsor and the province’s capital. So, she’s been using her free time to enjoy a new city.
“It’s been really cool to explore,” she said. “And having a new group of girls, it’s been really nice to explore [Ottawa] with them.”
There are a few locals on the team, who, Waite notes, have acted as de facto tour guides for the team.
Ottawa will be home for the next portion of Waite’s life and soccer career, and she couldn’t be more excited. She’s building a professional career playing the game she’s loved since she was a kid.
