After playing soccer for her whole life, Kelis Daye discovered her true passion in track and field during her second year of high school.
Kelis, who grew up in Brantford, has quickly risen to become a dominant athlete in the 200- and 400-meter events during the last two years.
“My journey was a little bit different. I actually grew up playing almost every sport except track…soccer was my main sport for the longest time, and I always kind of knew I had a little bit of speed and I was quick on the field. But once I started running high school track, I truly discovered my love for the sport…I made it OFSSA West when I was in grade ten, which I was pretty proud of,” she said. “My high school coach, Krista DuChene, told me I should train with the Brantford Track and Field Club…and I joined them when I was in grade eleven. That’s where I met my coach, Marqus Daniel, and he pushed me to the next level. I was also training with one of my good friends, Philly van Nooten, and we pushed each other on the track, which helped us both to get better.”
However, still concentrating on track, Daye continues to play soccer for both North Park Collegiate and her Paris FC club team.
“I have been playing soccer all of my life [and] still doing it…being a multi-sport athlete throughout it all has brought out the best in me, because I really enjoy the team aspect of soccer, and I’ve always enjoyed the sport…but in the most recent years, I started to put track as my number one priority, as I knew I wanted to eventually run in university. I’ve continued playing soccer, and currently play for Paris FC team,” said Daye. “I played for the high school soccer team this season as well. Although we recently lost our semifinal game, I think…we had a really good season.”
Although Daye has maintained a level of success on the pitch, she has truly excelled on the track.
“I started in Grade 10 for high school track, where I made it on to the OFSSA West and then the next year, I ran a personal best in the 400 meters which was 57.69 seconds at the [2024 Legion National Youth Track & Field Championships were held in Calgary], which was a really great experience for me,” she explained. “I also got a personal best in 400 meters just this year and ran another personal best of 25.46 seconds at the 2025 AABHN track and field championship, which was good for first place. Breaking the 26 in the 200 meters was important to me [as I was] pushing for it all of last year and finally did it this year.”
Daye is now completing her last year of high school and has her sights on academics, as well as competing on the track team for the University of Windsor in 2025-26.
“Academics is something I take extremely seriously [and] I really hold value in a good education. When I was choosing a school, I knew that academics would come first, although I always knew that I wanted to play sports in post-secondary. So, I went to some of the Windsor open houses there, and it was a really family-oriented environment. And it’s a medium-sized university [and] I actually got to speak to one of the psychology professors, one-on-one. That was a big plus for me. They were really encouraging and hands-on with all their students,” Daye explained. “I think something that set the track program apart from the others was really like the coaching staff and the head coach, Colin Inglis. He was really encouraging to me, and emphasized how he could picture me on the team in the future…[also] they’re ranked third as well. So that was a really big bonus for me. I want to be challenged with the other athletes I’ll be running with, and I know that they have been a successful team in the past as well.”
Nevertheless, Daye has recognized a few coaches who have helped guide her in her journey.
“I’ve definitely had a lot of important coaches I had in my lifetime. Currently, coach Daniel coaches me at the Brantford Track and Field Club, although I only started there over a year ago, he’s been a really influential coach to me….I didn’t really picture track and field as something I would be doing post-secondary, but with [his] help with training and encouraging me and pushing us as athletes, it really brought me to where I am today, so I really appreciate that on his part,” reflected Daye. “Also, all of my high school coaches in track and field, basketball, soccer, and volleyball have been really influential…one of them being Becky Williams. She’s been really great [and has] coached me since grade nine in both basketball, and soccer. She’s been a really influential coach in my life, constantly encouraging me [and] pushing me to reach my potential. I appreciate all those coaches who have helped get to where I am today.”
Daniel, who has coached Daye for a short time, noticed her talent on the track and helped encourage her passion for the sport.
“The first week that I met her; I told her she was going with us to indoor nationals in Montreal because I knew about her running before. I remember her looking at me like I was crazy, because she didn’t know anything about track or how fast she was on the circuit…we went from not even having a four-by-four relay team to putting together one! The four by two team won gold at indoor nationals, and the four-by-four team was silver at indoor nationals, and Kelis was a part of both teams,” said Daniel said. “The amount that she’s been able to absorb in this small amount of time that she’s been here, because she’s been able to learn and keep up with kids that have been doing this for literally 12 years, in a very short amount of time. Her ability to learn very quickly and on the fly is very impressive, because I’m throwing a lot of different things at her, and she’s able to just understand them and utilize them immediately.”
Daye has also had an opportunity to compete at the Debbie Miller Classic, a staple in local track and field competitions, which gave her a chance to meet former Olympic track star Debbie Miller last year.
“It was an absolute privilege to meet her. She was really encouraging and really bringing a positivity to the track. I know she made an announcement when we were at the event…looking around and mentioning that everybody had such serious faces…she told us that you’re here to compete and run track, but to always remember to keep a smile on your face and enjoy the sport,” Daye recalled. “I think that was a great reminder, just because I feel like a lot of time, we let our sport define us, and we take it really seriously, which we need to do, but at the end of the day, we need to remember why we do it, why we love the sport, and to just keep positive and to always encourage each other. it. So, it was so great to meet Debbie…she was a really kind person, and I appreciated that opportunity to speak with her.”
However, Daye has a few goals in mind especially during her first year at university.
“I want to have a successful first year in university. A lot of the coaches [and] post-secondary coaches emphasize that first year is more of a development here…to test things out and that whole transition from high school to university, but I definitely am reaching for some personal bests, and I just want to reach that next level next year. I’m going to obviously push myself as much as I can and see what I can do,” she noted. “In terms of academics, I’m definitely looking forward to studying psychology and continuing to work hard…career wise, I’m currently doing a co-op at the Brantford Police Station, which I’m really enjoying. I will be studying psychology, but I’m also interested in perhaps doing something in law enforcement. So, the co-op has been really great, because I get to kind of take a step into the field and see what my future could be.”
