loyola Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=2708 Canadian Soccer Association Thursday, May 24, 2007 Fred Nykamp named Canadian Soccer Association's chief executive officer The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Fred Nykamp has been named chief executive officer (CEO) for the Canadian Soccer Association. Mr. Nykamp will lead the Canadian Soccer Association into an exciting new stage as soccer continues to progress as one of the leading recreational and entertainment sports in Canada. "We are proud to welcome Mr. Nykamp to the Canadian Soccer Association team," says president Colin Linford. "It is a pleasure to introduce someone with such a strong business repertoire from both the corporate and sport communities. He will play an integral part in shaping the Canadian Soccer Association from our youngest first-time players to our senior professional and international players." Mr. Nykamp recently spent three years as the executive director of Canada Basketball. He leaves Canada Basketball in solid shape, having helped strengthen the game played by grassroots and elite players in Canada. Amongst his initiatives were the BeOne national membership program, the National Elite Development Academy (16- and 17-year old players), and Steve Nash Youth Basketball (5-13 years old). Before joining Canada Basketball, Mr. Nykamp spent four years as president of WIO Inc., a company that specialized in business planning and development. During that time, he worked with companies such as Field & Stream and ELLE Sportswear, a unit of Hachette Filipacchi Media. Prior to this, he worked as a vice-president and general manager with Sara Lee Corporation’s Hanes & Champion overseas business units and he was the managing director for Champion Canada, a leading authentic athletic brand. "I am excited to be taking on such a wonderful challenge with the Canadian Soccer Association," says Fred Nykamp. "Through its tremendous scope at the grassroots level and long standing tradition, soccer has the potential for establishing an indomitable footprint on the Canadian landscape which we will also work to convert into greater international success in the future." This summer, the Canadian Soccer Association will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 in six cities across the nation. With more than 600,000 spectator tickets already sold, this tournament is the biggest single-sport event in Canadian history. As for Canada's senior teams, the men's national team takes part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States next month while the women's national team takes part in the FIFA Women's World Cup China 2007 in September. The women's team, under coach Even Pellerud, is looking to improve on its fourth-place finish from four years ago in the United States. The men's national team, under newly-appointed head coach Dale Mitchell, is looking to qualify next year for the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Well after pissing off the basketball community from coast to coast for three years it was probably a good time to get out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan Well after pissing off the basketball community from coast to coast for three years it was probably a good time to get out Don't know enough really to comment on the job he did there, but I will.Outside of the CIS Final 8 being a well attended event (and that's a CIS event)......I don't see Basketball Canada as being in any better shape than CSA? There were the worlds in Toronto 6 or 7, maybe 10 years ago...... EDIT: But I guess we should give him a chance. Maybe he knows the Canadian sports scene..... and to edit anti-Pipe comments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan Well after pissing off the basketball community from coast to coast for three years it was probably a good time to get out A willingness to piss off the community might not be such a bad thing, considering the way the soccer community (read: provincial associations) routinely bungles things, like the Simoes hiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan Well after pissing off the basketball community from coast to coast for three years it was probably a good time to get out Can't comment on his job with basketball Canada but from his CV he seems well qualified for the position. I am happy at least that they didn't hire another CSA insider. Here is the announcement of his resignation from Basketball Canada: http://basketball.ca/en/hm/inside.php?sid=1&id=1159 CANADA BASKETBALL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION (Toronto, Ontario) Canada Basketball Executive Director and CEO, Fred Nykamp has officially announced his leaving the organization to pursue a new opportunity. Nykamp is leaving his position after three years at that post. He will be leaving Canada Basketball on very solid footing to move forward into the future and further develop the sport in Canada, reaching Canada Basketball’s Vision 2020, becoming a world leader in basketball. During his tenure with CB, Nykamp has launched many new programs and initiatives that have helped to unify, strengthen and improve overall governance of the game of basketball in Canada, from the grassroots level to the National teams. The BeOne initiative that was developed is a national membership program that has helped to move towards unifying the entire Canadian basketball community. He has also spearheaded Canada’s move towards a set of common playing rules across the country. The launch of the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA), a high performance development program for Canada’s top 16 and 17 year olds and the introduction of Steve Nash Youth Basketball, a first ever national community based program for 5-13 year olds were each important new directives brought under Nykamp’s direction. The board and staff of Canada Basketball thank Nykamp and wish him well in his future endeavours. A search for a new replacement will begin immediately and will be headed by Canada Basketball President and Chair, Dr. Robert Gordon. “We sincerely would like to thank Fred for all of his hard work and progress that the organization was able to make under his management. A great amount was accomplished in moving Canada Basketball towards achieving its long-term vision,” commented Dr. Gordon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan Well after pissing off the basketball community from coast to coast for three years it was probably a good time to get out Please elaborate, who did he piss off and how did he do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseDart Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 I for one will give him a chance. Mind you he is stepping into a hectic year with all that's going on. I think things are a bit on cruise control at this point, but I'll give it a year before slugging him. My passing grade is the following: CLEAR LEGACY FROM THE U20 WC I'd like to see this event lead to: 1) More tournaments, including the Gold Cup 2) I'd like to see him secure the development of stadia or indoor soccer facilities that will lead to developing our young future. 3) I'd like to see him keep the High profile Sponsorship beyond this summer's tournament. MEN'S PROGRAM 1) More high profile friendlies in Canada 2) Television coverage for National Team away games 3) Promotion of our national team and players in the mainstream media DOMESTIC COMPETITION 1) A true structure for a domestic competition (it doesn't have to be pro) 2) Spots for 2 Canadian clubs in CONCACAF competition I hope that we don't go down this road of saying that the priority is the grassroots. I think this manadate has been achieved. For about ten years now, soccer has been the more popular sport at the grass roots. Now that these kids are 16-17, what do we have for them? where is the next step? Let's address that. The grassroots, as I see it, should be the domain of the Provincial Associations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 We have the NTC's for the kids coming up...i'd still like to see a stronger calibre of competition for the top youth club teams though. A National U19 league is maybe unrealistic, but having a dozen teams in the Super Y league might not be a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by jpg75 We have the NTC's for the kids coming up...i'd still like to see a stronger calibre of competition for the top youth club teams though. A National U19 league is maybe unrealistic....... Maybe unrealistic at this point. But if we don't either develop a national junior league or somehow get CIS to recruit top Canadian talent we'll see our players go elsewhere. (NCAA or Euro youth academies). The more I read in this thread Mr. Nykamp maybe a good choice as he's used to getting provincial bodies on line? Soccer is at a threshhold in Canada. Three well supported pro teams and the TV coverage is the best I've seen in my more than half a century on this earth in Canada. We just have to give a reason to 18-19 year olds to stay in the game. But the decisions made now could make the game go either way. Winning teams will gain community support but if there are no community teams there will never be support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachRich Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Until Canada has a true development pathway from U6 to Pro our country will not be able to keep graduating U18's in Canada. It's too attractive money wise for graduating players to head to the USA for scholarships. Canadian Universities can't compete money wise & there is no real farm type streaming into pro clubs in Canada like there is in Europe. Until kids don't have to pay for being on Super Y team & the like Canada will not be able to retain the best players in the system to funnel into our National teams. IMO the best strategy is to have more Pro teams in Canada that will make the money to bridge the amateur/grassroots levels into pro by having a farm system like the rest of the world. Only downfall of this is that fringe or smart players will still want to go to university as they realize pro soccer in NA has a time limit on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by CoachRich Until Canada has a true development pathway from U6 to Pro our country will not be able to keep graduating U18's in Canada. It's too attractive money wise for graduating players to head to the USA for scholarships. Canadian Universities can't compete money wise & there is no real farm type streaming into pro clubs in Canada like there is in Europe. Until kids don't have to pay for being on Super Y team & the like Canada will not be able to retain the best players in the system to funnel into our National teams. IMO the best strategy is to have more Pro teams in Canada that will make the money to bridge the amateur/grassroots levels into pro by having a farm system like the rest of the world. Only downfall of this is that fringe or smart players will still want to go to university as they realize pro soccer in NA has a time limit on it. Unless we can somehow...(I know it's a dream) develop a Junior league similar to CHL who gives a years bursary for every year played. Which has CIS hockey teams drooling over players. Or like football has a CFL like pro league that has import quotas that has CIS schools drooling over High School players. You maybe right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tv Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 I guess he was hired because of his sportsmanagement and business background. However I hope that he will understand the passion and great potential of the game. It seems that there is a trend to hire those that have no soccer background and obviously they don't have that commitment or passion. This is what I am concerned about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadasBest Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Here's some interesting comments about Nykamp... http://www.canadianbasketball.net/chtboard/viewtopic.php?t=1805 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by john tv I guess he was hired because of his sportsmanagement and business background. However I hope that he will understand the passion and great potential of the game. It seems that there is a trend to hire those that have no soccer background and obviously they don't have that commitment or passion. This is what I am concerned about. The flip side of that was the Canadian soccer League of the 1990. There you had lots of people with passion and commitment but were lacking sportsmanagement and business background. We know what happened to the CSL. All those attributes: sportsmanagement and business background as well commitment or passion are equally important in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tv Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 No media no succes. Do I have to start preaching again. Look what happened to Toronto FC,just magic but this because the media were forced into this thing. MLSE is to big to ignore and the old saying is " if you can't beat it join it"Reviewing the credentials of Nykamp,which is a Dutch name,he seems to have what we need big time. I just hope that he has impeccable media contacts and hey he could even have Steve Nash as our spokesperson as well.Will there be combined soccer/basketball camps on the horizon. I would it is such a natural anyway.When I get to meet him I will suggest this and I will let you know his reaction.Heck with a name like that he may very well have a soccer background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 To elaborate on my last post, he did piss a lot of people off with what he's done but that may be exactly what the CSA needs. But be prepared for fireworks. At Canada Basketball he had a dictatorial style of doing things. He's been trying to ram FIBA rules down everyone's throats for three years through threats and very questionable tactics. He's tried to have college and University coaches reprimanded for speaking out against it. Rather than suggesting the new rules to provincial school sports boards he has tried to force these organizations to change even though it's the schools themselves who have to incur all the costs and have full control of the facilities the basketball community needs. I know in Ontario, OFSAA has basically told him to F' off and don't come back for a long time. This is a guy who thinks a 24 second shot clock and 8 seconds in the back court with a longer 3-point line should be used by even the youngest of children. And to top it off, firing the most successful Canadian coach since Jack Donahue was s real genius idea. Jay Triano was very good friends with Steve Nash since his childhood and Nash had choice words for Basketball Canada after the firing. Nash's age and new family are only part of the reason he's not playing for Canada anymore... the other: Fred Nykamp. As for the CSA, maybe this kind of dictator CEO is exactly what they need to get the provinces in line. Just don't be surprised if he makes very few friends along the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseDart Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 FIBA huh? Well, personally if we can get a guy to take a worldly approach to game in Canada and ram it down everyon's throat, then I'm all for that. Specially if the approach is by having a domestic league competition with promotion and relegation, and instituting standards in th game such as futsal rules for indoor and the likes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juby Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 The only thing I've heard about canadian basketball recently isn't good. There's a 16 team world cup, Canada is ranked about 10th, we failed to qualify??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by john tv No media no succes. Do I have to start preaching again. Please don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan To elaborate on my last post, he did piss a lot of people off with what he's done but that may be exactly what the CSA needs. But be prepared for fireworks. At Canada Basketball he had a dictatorial style of doing things. He's been trying to ram FIBA rules down everyone's throats for three years through threats and very questionable tactics. He's tried to have college and University coaches reprimanded for speaking out against it. Rather than suggesting the new rules to provincial school sports boards he has tried to force these organizations to change even though it's the schools themselves who have to incur all the costs and have full control of the facilities the basketball community needs. I know in Ontario, OFSAA has basically told him to F' off and don't come back for a long time. This is a guy who thinks a 24 second shot clock and 8 seconds in the back court with a longer 3-point line should be used by even the youngest of children. And to top it off, firing the most successful Canadian coach since Jack Donahue was s real genius idea. Jay Triano was very good friends with Steve Nash since his childhood and Nash had choice words for Basketball Canada after the firing. Nash's age and new family are only part of the reason he's not playing for Canada anymore... the other: Fred Nykamp. As for the CSA, maybe this kind of dictator CEO is exactly what they need to get the provinces in line. Just don't be surprised if he makes very few friends along the way. Interesting input. I do like the fact that you mentioned that he was a forcefull proponent of having canada patern themsselves for the international game rather than just doing as the Americans do. But now that you mentioned it, I too wondered at the time why Jay Triano was fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Should've added this in my last post but he has done several good things for Canadian Basketball. He's boosted their funding greatly and put a much greater emphasis on the youth teams by hiring a full time youth coach. The U19 team just qualified for the worlds for the first time ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Hope this guy is good. This is a very important hire. The notion that media attention is what will solve the problems is patently absurd. If we produce players, win games, qualify for World Cups and run a professional show, then we will attract fans, money and attention. This is very simple stuff - good products win attention/money, etc...and crap products get ignored. The reason Canadian soccer has been ignored is because the product blows. And has for a while. Take my word on this - if Toronto FC sucks for 3 consecutive years (ie about as long as it will take for the newness of it to wear off), it will become small potatoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan Should've added this in my last post but he has done several good things for Canadian Basketball. He's boosted their funding greatly Well that's the sort of thing I like to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseDart Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 quote:Originally posted by SF Hope this guy is good. This is a very important hire. The notion that media attention is what will solve the problems is patently absurd. If we produce players, win games, qualify for World Cups and run a professional show, then we will attract fans, money and attention. This is very simple stuff - good products win attention/money, etc...and crap products get ignored. The reason Canadian soccer has been ignored is because the product blows. And has for a while. Take my word on this - if Toronto FC sucks for 3 consecutive years (ie about as long as it will take for the newness of it to wear off), it will become small potatoes. Good Products? Paul Stalteri Tomasz Radzinsky Julian de Guzman Jonathan de Guzman Ian Hume Jamie Peters David Edgar Owen Hargreaves I guess that's $h!tty product undeserving of anyone's attention. All these guys are Canadian. It is the responsability of the CSA to bring them together for the sake of the sport and promote them. The guy in charge of Soccer in this country, should either be buddy with the Media or advocate for them. This whole hogwash concept of laissez fair will take care of it all is patently absurd. You have to market your product to be successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georg Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Lets see if he will be on the Nigel Reed show tonight on Sports 590 and what will be said. I too hope it will work out. Maybe Nigel should call Steve Nash and see what he thinks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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