Richard Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 At least three Pacific Coast Soccer League clubs have their own select academy or youth development team programs catering for elite players, both girls and boys, ranging in age from U-6 to U-17. This ensures a healthy feeder for the senior teams and is an example of how we are going to end up with a strong and viable national league and teams. Identifying and focussing on the training and development of elite players from an early age and giving them appropriate playing opportunities at all age levels is the only way to go. http://www.pcsl.org/features-2005/xtreme-feb-17.htm http://www.surreyunitedsoccer.com/academy/ http://www.whitecapsfc.com/academy.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 The whitecaps team in the PCSL is a reserve team and was just add this year. The Whitecaps have had y-league teams for much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 quote:Originally posted by hamiltonfan The whitecaps team in the PCSL is a reserve team and was just add this year. The Whitecaps have had y-league teams for much longer. Agreed. They have also had a youth development program supplementing their Y-League teams for some time now. Surrey United is a very large club with the usual array of youth and senior teams. The men's and women's premier teams have both won the nationals more than once. The Surrey United Spring Academy was added to their already comprehensive system in 2003. Tri-Cities Xtreme has grown from only a women's PCSL team to include an academy and now this expanded program. I did not set out to promote these clubs specifically, merely to illustrate the kind of 'whole life', in-depth approach to development of elite players that will inevitably lead to better performance at the national level in the medium to long term. This is integrated longterm approach is far superior to leaving development to occur on a haphazard basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonfan Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Ya..I understand. as always(CPSL vs. PCSL)..there are clubs in the CPSL with similar youth development. Hamilton Thunder- U21 Reserve Durham Storm- 10-month Professional Soccer Academy for boys and girls aged U7 to U14 London City- Youth soccer league of all ages and levels (http://www.nlsoccer.com) Metrio Lions- Youth teams from U10-U14 plus academy Vaughan Shooters- Great youth development system(top in the CPSL). Not to sure about all the info but I do no they have one. Toronto Supra- Under 8 (Boys& Girls) Under 10 (Boys) Under 11 (Boys) Under 12 (Boys) Under 14 (Boys) Toronto Croatia- Youth teams playing under the name Missiagua Croatia North York- Part of North York Soccer Association Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted February 18, 2005 Author Share Posted February 18, 2005 That's good to know about those CPSL clubs. There are other PCSL teams that are part of a larger club structure but the three I highlighted have specific elite youth player development programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettermirror Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 how "elite" is this training? is this simply a more recognized "select" team? is this simply the clubs identifying the best youth players as has been happening? do these players get specific skills-based training outside of two-a-week practices with their club teams? do they play for their local rep or metro club AS WELL as this "elite" team? do you see what i am getting at? just because you say this is elite training doesn't MAKE it elite training. it could simply be that they are now adopting what was already happening under their banner. in the whitecaps case, i know it is "elite" training. as far as the other clubs go, i have no idea. can someone explain the specifics of these clubs? the whitecaps have province-wide trials, and offer a very high level of training and exposure with a mind-set of joining the whitecaps first team or reserves when you turn 16-17-18. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettermirror Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 how "elite" is this training? is this simply a more recognized "select" team? is this simply the clubs identifying the best youth players as has been happening? do these players get specific skills-based training outside of two-a-week practices with their club teams? do they play for their local rep or metro club AS WELL as this "elite" team? do you see what i am getting at? just because you say this is elite training doesn't MAKE it elite training. it could simply be that they are now adopting what was already happening under their banner. in the whitecaps case, i know it is "elite" training. as far as the other clubs go, i have no idea. can someone explain the specifics of these clubs? the whitecaps have province-wide trials, and offer a very high level of training and exposure with a mind-set of joining the whitecaps first team or reserves when you turn 16-17-18. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impact supporter Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Whay not just merge the PCSL and Umbro Development League?? this way you can get a full club structure. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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