[1] Born in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, Bearpark played soccer as a youth for Bristol City and Bath.
He moved to Canada when he was 32 and enrolled as a graduate student in physical education at the University of Western Ontario.
Bearpark served three years as technical director for the Ontario Soccer Association and then joined the Canadian Soccer Association, where he coached the national team to a fourth-place finish at the 1984 Great Wall of China Tournament, and led the team in qualifying for the 1984 Summer Olympics.
He became head coach of Canada's national team after the World Cup and held the job through 1987.
In 1989 Bearpark quit his job with the CSA after refusing a transfer from Hamilton to the head office in Ottawa.