Retired Olympic champion Labbé helping shape next generation of Canadian soccer stars

Rather than taking it easy in retirement, Stephanie Labbé decided to hit the road.

After playing in her last game as a professional in April, the former Canadian women's team goalkeeper embarked on a cross-country tour over the last two months in which she held youth player clinics in more than 30 communities for boys and girls ages nine to 13.

Labbé, a 35-year-old from Edmonton, hoped that the clinics inspired the next generation of young girls who'll one day play for Canada. Just as important, the tour allowed her to connect with Canadian fans on a more intimate level and celebrate the women's team's gold-medal achievement at last summer's Tokyo Olympics.

"We won gold in empty stadiums [because of COVID], and we really didn't have that chance to come back and celebrate with Canadians. We had a few celebration games, but it was the tail end of the pandemic and we weren't really able to go into the community and share it with people outside of those games," Labbé told CBC Sports.

"That was something that pushed me to do this — to travel across the country, to get into communities and give these kids an opportunity to share in the excitement and joy of this medal. I'll never be able to put into words what it's like when I see the smiles on the kids' faces, it makes it all worth it."

WATCH l Labbé shared love of the game with young Nova Scotia players:

A vocal advocate for the advancement of women's soccer, Labbé isn't content to simply rest on her laurels now that her playing career is over. Instead, she plans to pay things forward and use her public status to push for the launch of a Canadian professional women's league.

Canada is one of a very few top-ranked countries in the world that doesn't have a top-level domestic