HUITEMA Jordyn

General
MOVE TO EUROPE
In 2019, at age 17, she joined French club Paris Saint-Germain instead of playing for a university team. "In Canada you go to high school and then you go to college and you play in university. That was the pathway that everyone knew and wanted to follow. But I kind of started a new pathway, showing people that there's other things you can do and different ways to go. I was playing with the [Vancouver] Whitecaps academy in BC, but it got to a point where it just wasn't pushing me enough. Prior to the [2019] World Cup I needed the best training I could get, and I knew that I needed to be here [in Paris] in order to do that. As soon as I made the decision, I headed out here right away and started training immediately. Moving across the sea, away from your family, it's very difficult, but I think the difference comes when I come back to Team Canada camps. When I'm away here [in Paris] for three months and then have a big Canada camp, I think you really notice a difference just in my overall performance." (sportsnet.ca, 01 Jul 2020; bbc.co.uk, 27 Oct 2020)

GUIDANCE FROM SINCLAIR
She grew up idolising Canadian footballer Christine Sinclair. They both come from British Columbia and play the same position, with Canadian midfielder Sophie Schmidt stating that "at first everybody was saying [Huitema was] the next Christine Sinclair". Huitema was age 14 when she first played alongside Sinclair at a national team training camp, and she and Sinclair have since become friends. Sinclair said she sees herself as a mentor to the younger Huitema. "I've definitely tried to take her under my wing," Sinclair said in 2020. "Obviously, we play the exact same position. We're [both] from B.C. I spend as much time with her [Huitema] as possible." (sportsnet.ca, 01 Jul 2020)

MEMORABLE DEBUT
She made her senior Canada debut against Spain at age 15 in the final of the 2017 Algarve Cup in Portugal. "I was terrified. It was the Algarve Cup final and [then-head coach] John Herdman started me. [It was] my first cap, and [he was] playing me in a final. I was 15, and I was like, 'This is insane'. I was just super, super nervous at that point. And then obviously as you keep playing and progressing, your nerves kind of diminish and you get to really showcase the type of player you are. But I was definitely a little nervous going into that first game." (sportsnet.ca, 01 Jul 2020)

In 2020 she became the youngest player to win the Golden Boot award [as top goal scorer] in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament, scoring seven goals in five matches. (goal.com, 25 Aug 2020)

In 2017 she became the first Canadian player to score for the country's U17, U20 and senior national teams in the same calendar year. When she scored her first goal for the senior team against Costa Rica, she became the second-youngest goal scorer in Canadian women's national team history. (en.psg.fr, 01 Sep 2019; tsn.ca, 11 Dec 2017; sportsnet.ca, 01 Jul 2020)