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There was a time when Elise Bell wasn’t sure she was good enough to play soccer at the next level.

In fact, when she first arrived at North Toronto Nitros, she was told there wasn’t a spot for her on the team.

She wasn’t the most technical player. She wasn’t scoring the most goals. And while other players around her were earning recognition and moving up, Bell was still trying to find her footing.

Fast forward a few years, and the former Ontario Premier League standout is playing professionally for Ottawa Rapid FC in the Northern Super League, having scored her first professional goal just a day after her signing was announced.

It’s the kind of story that makes the Canadian soccer pathway so special. But for Bell, the journey was never quite as straightforward as it might look from the outside.

Sitting down with Aizaz Sheikh for Episode 8 of The Pathway, Bell opened up about the moments of uncertainty, the people who believed in her and the unexpected opportunities that changed everything.

Finding her footing

Bell remembers her early days at North Toronto Nitros vividly.

After initially being told she wasn’t ready for the team, she was encouraged to continue training. When the club’s OPL (previously called League1 Ontario) pathway separated into different competitive levels, she found herself on the lowest-tier reserve team, barely getting on the field.

But what initially felt like a setback became one of the most important chapters of her development.

An injury to another player opened the door for Bell to earn more playing time. She took the opportunity, bringing the energy and work rate that would eventually become defining parts of her game.

One opportunity led to another. Before long, she was starting regularly, earning call-ups to the higher reserve team and eventually training with the Premier team.

There was just one small problem when that next opportunity arrived.

She almost turned it down.

When North Toronto’s sporting director called to ask if she could join the OPL1 (previously League1 Ontario Premier) team for a match, Bell was so nervous that she said she couldn’t make it. Her parents were away, she couldn’t drive and, more than anything, she didn’t think she was ready.

Fortunately, her older sister had other ideas.

After hearing what happened, she insisted Bell call back and accept the opportunity, then drove her to the game herself.

Bell ended up making an appearance in the second half.

It’s a small moment in a much bigger story, but one that captures just how much her journey has been shaped by the people around her and by learning to say yes, even when she wasn’t entirely sure she was ready.

Finding a home in Guelph

If North Toronto was where Bell learned to believe in herself, Guelph was where she found a community that made her love the game even more.

After spending part of the year studying abroad in Australia, Bell returned to Ontario and joined Guelph United for the final stretch of the 2026 OPL season.

With several of her University of Guelph teammates already involved, the decision felt natural.

What followed was one of the most memorable summers of her career.

Bell spent her days working at Guelph United’s summer camps alongside her teammates and her evenings looking forward to training. For her, the highlight wasn’t necessarily a particular match or result. It was the people.

She spoke fondly of a group that genuinely enjoyed being around one another, of teammates who supported each other and of a coaching staff that understood the importance of building relationships beyond the pitch.

That connection translated into success.

Guelph United went on to win the 2026 Women’s OPL Cup, with Bell scoring twice in the final against Hamilton United and earning MVP honours.

But even when reflecting on that accomplishment, Bell was quick to recognize the players who had helped build the program long before she arrived.

For someone who had once struggled to feel like she belonged on a team, Guelph offered something particularly meaningful: a place where she felt completely at home.

The opportunity that changed everything

Then came another unexpected chapter.

Following Guelph’s OPL Cup success, Bell was offered the chance to join Simcoe County Rovers for their Women’s Canadian Championship quarter-final against professional side Montréal Roses.

Having spent years competing against Simcoe with North Toronto and Guelph, joining a familiar rival felt a little strange. But the welcoming environment and belief within the group quickly put her at ease.

Bell helped Simcoe secure a historic victory over Montréal, another milestone for the OPL and another opportunity to test herself against professional opposition.

What she didn’t know was that someone else was watching.

After the match, Bell was approached about interest from Ottawa Rapid FC. At first, she assumed the conversation was about a possible opportunity the following season.

Instead, just days later, she learned that Ottawa wanted to bring her in immediately on a professional contract.

At the time, Bell had been preparing to return to the University of Guelph for her senior year, excited to play another season alongside her closest friends.

Suddenly, she had to choose between the life she had planned and the dream she had spent years working towards.

She chose the dream.

Within days, she had packed her belongings and moved to Ottawa, spending her first week living in a hotel while adjusting to her new reality.

And somehow, things were about to move even faster.

Bell wasn’t expecting to play in her first match with Ottawa Rapid FC. She wasn’t even convinced she’d be named to the matchday squad.

But when her number was called against Vancouver Rise FC, she did what she had always done. She brought her energy.

In the 81st minute, Bell headed home her first professional goal, scoring on her debut in front of the Ottawa crowd.

Back in Guelph, her former teammates had gathered to watch, later sending her videos of their reactions and messages celebrating the moment.

Her parents, meanwhile, had decided to watch from home because they hadn’t expected her to get on the field.

They missed seeing her first professional goal in person, but they certainly had something to celebrate.

More than a pathway

One of the most revealing parts of Bell’s conversation came when she reflected on how differently her career might have unfolded.

She admitted that growing up, she often compared herself to other players and sometimes struggled to enjoy soccer because she didn’t see herself as one of the best.

Then, during her first year at Guelph, a fractured foot and concussion kept her away from the game for an extended period.

Suddenly, the sport she had sometimes questioned became the thing she missed most.

Not the competition or the recognition. Just being able to step onto a field and kick a ball.

When she returned, her perspective had changed.

She trained on her own, worked on the parts of her game she wanted to improve and even shoveled snow off fields during the winter so she could continue practising.

It wasn’t always glamorous, but she loved it.

And gradually, the possibility of playing professionally began to feel a little less distant.

The launch of the Northern Super League helped bring that dream closer to home. Bell recalled watching games and realizing that professional women’s soccer in Canada was something she could genuinely work towards.

Now, she’s part of the very league she once watched from the stands.

For Bell, though, the significance of that opportunity goes beyond her own career. She hopes to become someone young girls can look up to, just as she once looked up to Canada’s women’s national team players.

From the lowest reserve level at North Toronto to lifting the OPL Cup with Guelph United, representing Simcoe County Rovers on the national stage and scoring on her professional debut, Bell’s journey is a reminder that development doesn’t always happen in a straight line.

Sometimes, it takes patience. Sometimes, it takes the right people believing in you.

And sometimes, it takes an older sister telling you to pick up the phone and say yes.

Watch Elise Bell’s full conversation with Aizaz Sheikh on Episode 8 of The Pathway, available on @PSLCanadaHQ and @OneSoccer YouTube channels.