Nova Scotia's Syd Kennedy wasn't ready to be done with football. Now, she'll represent the Halifax Tides in their inaugural season.

Anyone steeped in Nova Scotia's football community knows her name, its utterance almost always followed by a smile.

Be it as a member of the U-15 Canadian national team, playing for Acadia University or representing and scoring the game-winning goal to secure Nova Scotia a medal at the Canada Summer games, Syd Kennedy has already made her mark. It's one of the reasons her signing announcement for the Halifax Tides made waves across Atlantic Canada: Kennedy is one of their own and, after what seems like a life-time of memories, is now a professional footballer.

"I remember Syd when she was on our provincial team coming up through the ranks," said Lindsay MacAskill, executive director of Soccer Nova Scotia. "It's really important for girls who are involved in our programs to see that (playing pro) is possible with Syd and a few more local signings to come."

Tides co-founder and CEO Dr. Courtney Sherlock echoed the sentiment.

"Look at our announcement (with Sid) last week. We're seeing all these messages coming in saying: 'Oh my God, my kid played with her' or 'I remember watching her play in Halifax.' We're providing an opportunity that would have never existed before (the Northern Super League)," she said.

Kennedy, of course, isn't the only Nova Scotian to sign for the Tides as Sarah Taylor and Saorla Miller both also hail from Canada's ocean playground. However, there's something particularly special about inking Kennedy given her goal scoring ability, storied start with the national program and involvement with the local football community: Kennedy is a player who has always had potential.

And Kennedy is still very much tapped in, having played in the Nova Scotia Women's Soccer League in 2024, where she earned top scorer, and regularly coaches with Suburban FC's U-15 program. As luck would have it, she had a coaching session lined up the day of her signing announcement with Tides.

"(The kids) thought it was pretty cool when the announcement went out," Kennedy told The Wanderers Notebook. "It's an amazing feeling to know I'm one of these players they can look up to."

Kennedy added getting to suit up for her hometown club, with the launch of the NSL, is particularly poignant given she thought her football journey was over. Thankfully, she's only now beginning her professional journey with the Tides.

Kennedy was raised in Fletchers Lake, a community just outside of Fall River. The middle sibling of three girls, she grew up watching her older sister playing football before getting involved herself. Like many athletic kids, she juggled a handful of sports, including hockey, but ultimately fell for the beautiful game.

"It was (football) that stole my heart," she said.

Kennedy's childhood memories are punctuated by football: training on the little grass field of Holland Road Elementary in Fletchers Lake, Timbits matches on weekends, improving little by little, bouncing from club to club until landing with Suburban, which proved to be a gamechanger.

“That was a big opportunity for me to get into a more academy feel with Suburban. It was all a little bit more serious, we had technical directors and that whole structure," she explained.

Kennedy was also called upon to represent Canada's U-15 program in Florida for the CONCACAF Championships, planting the seeds for her university career. There, she scored six goals to help Canada secure a silver medal and caught the eye of several coaches from the Sunshine State.

As she navigated her scholarship opportunities, Kennedy said she was leaning towards the University of Florida before her official visit. Once there, she knew her mind was made up.

"When I got to the campus and it felt like home, I knew it was the right place," she said. "You don’t get much better in terms of facilities, support from fans, meal halls, training rooms, the gyms. It gives you that elite feeling in a university setting.”

Kennedy played 53 matches for the Gators, was named captain and won the Florida Women's Soccer Team Leadership Award in 2023. However, after four years in the United States, it was time to return to Nova Scotia.

"I'm definitely a homebody," said Kennedy. "I missed home."

With her degree in hand, Kennedy returned to Canada but wasn't ready to hang up her boots; her younger sister was playing football for Acadia University, as well as one of her best friends, so she decided to play for another year under head coach Amit Batra.

Kennedy knew Batra through Nova Scotia's football circles but wasn't necessarily close with him. However, together at Acadia, Kennedy went on to have a phenomenal season, scoring 12 goals for the Axewomen, earning U-Sports All-Canadian honours and co-MVP accolades.

Meanwhile, in the background, the seeds for the NSL were well-planted and as more and more news became available, Kennedy said she realized that she didn't have to retire after her season at Acadia.

"I wasn't ready to be done but with no pro league in Canada previously, and knowing I wanted to live in Canada, continuing didn't seem like an option for me," she explained. "My first thought when I heard about (the NSL) was how the heck do I get in there to be part of it. I wanted to do everything in my power to try and get in there."

Batra and Kennedy had several conversations about the league and when he was announced as the Tides sporting director in June, 2024, she took the initiative and picked up her phone.

"As soon as it became an official thing, I called him to say: 'How do we get this thing rolling?" she said.

Kennedy ultimately received an official invitation to the Tides prospects camp in November, making the familiar commute from her family home near Fall River to the BMO Soccer Centre. She showed her skills, despite some nerves, and earned her first professional contract.

And even though the ink is dry and it's out in the public, Kennedy still finds it hard to reconcile being a professional given it never seemed like a possibility when she was a kid training at Holland Road Elementary.

"It hits me sometimes," she said. "I get to do this for a living and it's the most amazing feeling."

It'll become even more real when Kennedy suits up for the Tides for the first time in April, with her home debut expected a few weeks later. It will be, in many ways, a full-circle moment for one of Nova Scotia's most promising football talents.

Cover Photo Credit: Acadia University