Graduating captain Luke Mackie reflects on his Huskie career and looks ahead to semi-pro soccer in Australia

During his time with the program, Luke Mackie has been a cornerstone of the Huskie Men’s Soccer program. The biomedical sciences graduate, and long‑time centre-back, sat down to reflect on his journey, leadership and what comes next after completing his final season with the team.

Mackie joined the Huskies in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. He didn’t see the field until 2021, when university sport finally resumed. His connection to the program, however, stretches much further back, having been coached by head coach Bryce Chapman since age 10. He shared that he was essentially “bred into being a Huskie.”

His youth experience and the consistency he carried into university paid off. Mackie finishes his career with 4,311 total minutes, just shy of cracking the program’s all‑time top‑10 minutes list.

When asked about the key to his consistency, he points to a mindset he adopted early in his university career:

“I read a book in my first year called The Slight Edge. [It explains how if] you do little things every day, they compound over time. I think that’s what I built up from my first year. We didn’t have games, but I could still get into a routine where the second, third, fourth, fifth years, I started to understand what I need to do to play as well as I am, and did, over my five years.”

That consistency eventually translated into leadership. Mackie credits the veterans who guided him in his early years:

“I had a lot of older guys that kind of taught me from year one and year two, and then year three, I was a part of that captain’s group, and then year four and year five, I became that captain. But I think that’s from those older guys teaching me how to manage the team.”

As a leader, he strives to be as inclusive and encouraging as possible:

“I want to be as inclusive as possible to everyone that’s coming into the program. In my first year, I was definitely scared coming in, being like, ‘Am I even supposed to be here? Am I good enough to be here?’ So especially [with] the young guys, I try to talk to them throughout the year just to understand what they want to get out of the year, so then I can kind of tailor how I speak to them. [With] the older guys as well … maybe it’s their last year, [so] I want to push them to get everything out that they can.”

Mackie notes that the team has gone through a lot of change and challenges throughout his five years, but he believes this season stood out in a positive way.

“This year was probably the best culture we’ve had since my first year. And I think that’s due to us just restarting the team, almost, because we have so many first years coming in, so we can kind of teach them, ‘this is what we want to do.’”

Despite missing three‑quarters of the season due to injury, Mackie watched a young roster compete closely in nearly every match, including a notable away win against the Calgary Dinos.

He felt a shift in priorities, too:

“The team was just enjoying playing soccer this year compared to past years, where certain individuals would put themselves first … rather than, ‘I want to be a Huskie. I want to play for this team.’ And that was a big difference this year.’”

This season, he especially appreciated the simple joys:

“We did a lot of enjoyable days of small‑sided games, which we haven’t done in the past. That was way more fun than just training.”

Leaving the program after six years brings mixed emotions.

“I’ll probably miss the routine the most … the day‑in, day‑out grind I’ve come to enjoy over the past five years. I’ll also miss the guys, because you will go out of the program with a lot of friends, but then you’re gonna obviously kind of grow apart from a few guys that you didn’t talk to as much.”

His advice to younger players echoes Chapman’s annual message:

“You got to enjoy where you are right now. When you’re done with your first, second, third year, you’re moving forward without thinking about where you are right now. So I just tell the younger guys, just enjoy your years while you’re here.”

Mackie won’t be stepping away from soccer just yet. He has secured an opportunity to play semi‑professionally in Australia.

“I plan to play in VPL One in Victoria, Australia, starting January 4. The team is Moreland City FC.”

He got the opportunity by cold‑calling agents around the world and landed in Australia as he felt a good relationship forming with the coach, along with assurances of being paid and supported with housing and travel costs.

He believes this will be a good first step into the world of professional soccer, but the timing also aligns well with future academic plans:

“The season runs January to August, which is perfect, because I’m not going to be in my second semester, so I applied to law [school] for next year. But that’s also a placeholder … [If] I go out there and I play well, then ideally, my agent gets me a trial for an NPL team, which is the Pro Division out there. But if not, then I have school to come back to.”

Mackie credits Chapman for shaping his belief that professional soccer was possible:

“I think he’s the reason I actually want to pursue pro after my years. He kind of taught me there’s only a certain amount of characteristics that can go into how you approach soccer that can take you to that next level. He instilled it in me that I have what it takes to be able to make that next step. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have.”

As he prepares for his next chapter, Mackie leaves behind a legacy of leadership, consistency and commitment—qualities that will follow him to Australia and beyond.

Good luck to Luke as he begins an exciting new chapter in Australia!