JULY/AUGUST 2019 BCBUSINESS 105 MELISSA RENWICK
W
hat happens
when two medi-
cal professionals
meet on the soccer pitch? For
chiropractor Melissa Tancredi
and physiotherapist Selenia
Iacchelli, the outcome was
co-founding a Vancouver clinic.
The pair •rst got together as
members of Canada Soccer's
Women's National Team in
2015, but they already knew
each other by reputation. "The
soccer world's very small,
especially on the national
team," Iacchelli explains.
Tancredi says, "We'd heard
of each other, and we'd talked
and whatever, and then •nally
we met in Vancouver," where
the national team is based.
The conversation bounces
back and forth between Mel
and Sel, as they refer to each
other, like a verbal passing
drill. Though Tancredi grew
up in Ancaster, Ontario, and
Iacchelli is from Edmonton,
they have a lot in common,
including Italian heritage.
Tancredi recalls, "When we
•rst met, we were talking about
our family, and she was like,
Yeah, my dad's from Ascoli
Piceno, and I'm like, My dad's
from Ascoli Piceno."
"Tiniest town," says
Iacchelli. "Even Italians don't
know it."
"We're kind of paisans,"
remarks Tancredi. "We're
probably related."
Both got into soccer as
children, joined provincial
teams in their teens, attended
American universities on
sports scholarships and played
professionally. A three-time
Olympian, Tancredi gradu-
ated from Indiana's University
of Notre Dame in 2005 with a
On the Ball
Workshop Performance Clinic owners and
former pro soccer players Selenia Iacchelli
and Melissa Tancredi still take the eld
by Felicity Stone
W E E K E N D WA R R IOR
(
quality time
)
WARRIOR
SPOTLIGHT
Melissa Tancredi and
Selenia Iacchelli launched
the Workshop Performance
Clinic at Vancouver's East
Georgia and Main streets
in January, but they'd
dreamed about it for years.
"We always knew the
exact clinic we wanted to
build, and it's because of
our careers as athletes,"
Iacchelli says. "We had
a concept in our mind,
and now to see it come to
fruition is pretty amazing,"
adds Tancredi. As well as
chiropractic and physio-
therapy, the six-member
team offers registered
massage and shockwave
therapy, dry needling, and
personal and sport-specific
performance training.
Clients range from elite and
amateur athletes to parents
with neck or back problems
from carrying their kids.
O FF
T H E
C LO C K
JUST FOR KICKS
After work, Tancredi
(left) and Iacchelli
play for the North
Shore Renegades
