Stinson: Hopes live on for Canadian youth

[sstackho]

A good article on youth development by Dan Stinson, although it looks like it was written before Bate ran for the hills.

Top Coaches Boost World Cup Dreams: SOCCER I Global extravaganza is over, but the hopes live on for Canadian youth. We just may need a little advice on how to get them there.

Dan Stinson

Vancouver Sun

1623 words

15 July 2006

Vancouver Sun

FINAL C

H1 / Front

English

Copyright © 2006 Vancouver Sun

Thirty-seven young boys gathered on a patch of farmland in South Surrey last month. For three days, as they took part in a soccer camp run by coaches from Chelsea FC, one of England's most successful teams, it was their field of dreams.

It was a select group of youngsters on the farmland, part of which had been converted to a finely groomed soccer pitch. Participation in the camp was by invitation only and for players in the under-12 to under-14 age groups who had demonstrated ability and a desire to pursue a professional career in the game.

"I want to play soccer like [Manchester United and Netherlands striker] Ruud van Nistelrooy," said 12-year-old midfielder Jason Van Blerk of North Vancouver. "He's a great scorer and has always been my favourite player."

A major hindrance to Van Blerk's ambition is the lack of a proper youth development system in Canadian soccer. It's an issue that was discussed by the Chelsea coaches, guest coach Carl Valentine, and camp organizer Brian Longpre. Longpre is co-owner of the 100 acres of farmland and has a 12-year-old son, Shayne Longpre, playing youth soccer in Langley.

"Shayne is a very keen and ambitious player," Brian Longpre said. "He has ambitions to go as far as his abilities will take him in the game. The problem is that when kids hit the 14-to-16 age levels in Canada, there's nowhere for them to go. Not if they want to pursue a full-time, year-round professional career."

Brian Longpre heard that the Chelsea coaches were conducting youth camps in Dallas and San Antonio in early June, and contacted the club to ask if the coaches would be interested in putting on a camp in South Surrey following their commitments in Texas. The coaches agreed.

"I thought it would be a great opportunity for the Chelsea coaches to give youth players in this area some direction on how to pursue a professional career," he said.

Brian and his wife, Leslie, contacted the head coaches of several youth soccer associations in Greater Vancouver and asked them to recommend players for the camp. The Longpres wanted to limit the camp to no more than 40 players in order to maximize opportunities for one-on-one coaching. The quota was quickly reached. Twenty-nine outfield players and eight 'keepers signed up for the June 19-21 camp, at $250 each. The fee included five hours of instruction per day.

The Chelsea coaches included Chris Harris, who heads the club's youth player development camps. Also at the camp, but not connected with Chelsea, was Neville Southall, a former goalkeeper with English League club Everton and the Wales national team.

"We have a very comprehensive youth player development program at Chelsea," said Harris, adding the club has about 50 training pitches in the London suburb of Cobham, about 50 kilometres from the main Stamford Bridge stadium. "The best young players are identified at age six, but they're not involved in league play at that level. It's just a fun thing for the six- and seven-year-old players. We throw a ball out and let them have some fun in a very informal environment. The kids don't get into league play until they're at the under-nine level. It then continues all the way up through each stage of the teenage years. Finally, the best players move up to either the reserve team or the first team."

Harris said a key to optimal development is players staying with the same club throughout their youth careers.

"If a young player is of high ability, he needs someone to co-ordinate that ability through each stage of his development," he said. "Continuity and consistency are very important for a young player. It's the main focus of what we do at Chelsea. By and large, the best young players stay in the Chelsea system throughout their development years and play against players of equal or better ability in the youth leagues."

Harris, who's in his 10th year with Chelsea, said a similar player development model is needed in Canada.

"Take Vancouver as an example," he said. "I've visited Vancouver before, and what I'm finding here is that there's good players in average clubs, average teams. The question is whether those players are getting better playing on average teams. The best players must play regularly against players of the same standard. It's the only way that they're going to get better."

Southall was impressed with the players' attitude at the camp.

"The first step in player development is that the kids have to be willing to listen and learn," he said. "That's what I'm finding here, so it's a good sign. I work with youth players in England and some of them think they know it all. They question everything you say. I've had a bit of experience in this game and I think I can pass on some good pointers. It's nice to see that the Canadian kids are polite and eager to learn."

Valentine, head coach of the North Shore Soccer Association's development centre, said youth soccer development lacks structure in Canada.

"We need to put programs and structure in place right across the country," said Valentine, a native of Manchester, England, who played for several English League clubs, the original Vancouver Whitecaps and Canadian national teams during his career. "There's no governance of the game in this country. No one's on the same page, there's no planning two or three years down the road. We have to come up with a harmonized nation-wide program that has some expectations and goals. And there has to be accountability if those expectations and goals aren't reached."

At the heart of the issue is Canada's failure to qualify for a World Cup tournament since its first, and only, appearance in 1986. One step the Canadian Soccer Association took to address the problem was hiring England native Dick Bate as CSA technical director last October. Bate, 59, has more than 30 years of coaching experience in many parts of the world, including a stint with the English Football Association as a staff coach. His five-year CSA contract runs through the end of 2009.

"In very general terms, I agree that more time and effort is needed for a unified approach to player development in Canada," said CSA chief operating officer Kevan Pipe. "Do we have to do more in this area? Absolutely. The association wants to stimulate youth player development right across the country, and we believe the hiring of Dick Bate will help us reach that goal.

"But I would suggest that a lot of progress has already been made," Pipe added. "For example, Canada is the host country of the 2007 FIFA under-20 men's World Cup tournament. It's the second-most-important soccer tournament in the world, behind the World Cup. We have a wonderful opportunity to build on player development as a result of hosting the tournament."

Pipe said the CSA earmarks almost $9 million of its $12-million annual budget to youth player development programs in Canada. "There are more plans and programs in place right now than ever before," he said.

It can only be hoped that those programs will benefit players like Van Blerk and North Vancouver's Joe Yeates. Yeates, a 13-year-old midfielder, also attended the Chelsea soccer camp and has dreams of a pro career.

"I want to play like [England's] Steven Gerrard," Yeates said. "He's far and away my favourite player."

Perhaps something similar to the Chelsea player development model could be adopted across Canada. Under Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea has been able to offer lucrative contracts to some of the world's best players. But Abramovich has also invested in player development at the club. According to English newspapers, his estimated investment in Chelsea FC as of January 2006 was $916 million Cdn, including $52 million for a new training facility that's now under construction.

Abramovich became the Chelsea owner in June 2003, when he bought the companies that control the club for a reported $125 million Cdn. The Blues enjoyed near-instant success following his takeover, finishing second in the Premier League in the 2003-04 season, first in 2004-05, and first again in 2005-06. They won the League Cup in 2005.

"Mr. Abramovich has obviously made a huge difference to the club," said Harris. "Our youth development programs were in place long before he took over, but he's invested heavily in that area and improved it immensely. I think it's a model to be followed.

"You obviously need the financial backing to set up a comprehensive development system like we have at Chelsea, and it's perhaps unrealistic to think that an identical model can be established in Canada, but there's no doubt in my mind that Canada has quality soccer players. It all comes down to their proper development."

danstinson@shaw.ca

Colour Photo: Steve Bosch, Vancouver Sun / Soccer standouts Cody Dunn (left), Shayne Longpre and Ilija Jahura practise their skills.; Colour Photo: Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun / This South Surrey 'field of dreams' was created on farmland co-owned by soccer camp organizer Brian Longpre.

[SF]

Nice article. Two things jumped to mind, I must say. One, when a guy who has had a job for 20 odd years says that we need to do something better, who would you blame for not doing it well in the first place? I am, of course, talking about Pipe and Canada's system of player development.

Two, if the CSA brass think that hosting the U20 will jump start our development system they are bone stupid. First of all, people said the same thing when we hosted the U16 about 20 years ago. How has that gone? Secondly, no short tournament is ever going to replace the need for proper infrastructure and condidered development. Just becasue people will be soccer mad for 3 weeks does not mean we start producing elite talent for the next 20 years.

Man, that Pipe is brain dead.

[KAS]

quote:Originally posted by SF

Nice article. Two things jumped to mind, I must say. One, when a guy who has had a job for 20 odd years says that we need to do something better, who would you blame for not doing it well in the first place? I am, of course, talking about Pipe and Canada's system of player development.

Two, if the CSA brass think that hosting the U20 will jump start our development system they are bone stupid. First of all, people said the same thing when we hosted the U16 about 20 years ago. How has that gone? Secondly, no short tournament is ever going to replace the need for proper infrastructure and condidered development. Just becasue people will be soccer mad for 3 weeks does not mean we start producing elite talent for the next 20 years.

Man, that Pipe is brain dead.

Hopefully, this tournament will be a big success and turn a profit (this is one of the few tournaments that FIFA always expects to make money), which will give the CSA the money to make this happen. I'm not going to defend the CSA, but even geniuses need some money to make things happen.

[SF]

The point is that the creation of an infrastructure that consistently develops quality players needs to happen from the bottom up - not the top down. If the current plan is to build on the success of the U20 (I am sure it will be successful), then it will end in failure. That Pipe is stupid enough to run around suggesting otherwise tells me we are in for another 20 years of wasted time.

[Winnipeg Fury]

quote:Originally posted by SF

The point is that the creation of an infrastructure that consistently develops quality players needs to happen from the bottom up - not the top down. If the current plan is to build on the success of the U20 (I am sure it will be successful), then it will end in failure. That Pipe is stupid enough to run around suggesting otherwise tells me we are in for another 20 years of wasted time.

Funny how Kevan Pipe's coments below are in direct contrast to people like Carl Valentine, Stephen Hart, Bruce Wilson, Holger Osieck and Tony Waiters:

"Today is a day of celebration. The arrival of MLS in Toronto is going to change the game overnight. The immediate impact is apparent. It's going to allow our national team players to finally play in Canada at a complete professional level. We expect to see a lot of our players returning home from Europe to play for Toronto FC. We also expect to see immediate improvement."

Every sentence of that paragraph is complete ignorance.