Gerry Dobson: The Bottom Line

[The Beaver]

quote:Originally posted by TOcanadafan

Hockey (and to a lesser extent basketball) also dilutes the pool of elite athletes to draw from. Who knows how many soccer stars could have been made from Canadians who currently play pro hockey? Often times, elite athletes (or those with elite potential) around the ages of 12-14 are excelling in multiple sports and have to choose one. So I am sure that not only have potential talents quit soccer because they don't see a "clear path", but they quit to pursue alternate sports. It would be interesting to know how many top jr. soccer players quit to pursue hockey. In countries where soccer is #1 (and I mean #1 not in number of registrations, but in terms of overall popularity) the elite youth multi-sport athlete chooses soccer.

This is an excellent point, one that a few of us have made in the past, too. I know that the three best youth players I ever watched play--or coached--were also excellent hockey players. It would mean that they often had to choose between playing in certain key soccer tournaments or going to hockey camps, and often soccer missed out. These young players were great physical specimens ie. great endurance, agility, strength, and with good coaching--and loads of training--could have become great footballers. But we all grew up in a hockey city, and even though 2 or the 3 players I mention had soccer-loving parents (Portuguese and Argentinian), hockey certainly proved a distraction to their development and committment to football.

[BrennanFan]

deVos and Edgar both had promising hockey careers ahead of them. Glad they chose the path less travelled.

[putkaputka]

You cannot say to a kid that there are 100 top soccer teams in the world, and there are 30 top hockey teams, so choose soccer! Then in a footnote add that the top teams are based outside of North America and half of the world's population dreams of playing for them. Hockey is a safer choice for young athletes in Canada because there is, I would venture, a million times less competition globally for pro-teams than soccer and it further based in north america.

There are some simple steps that could be taken, for any sport, for that matter, including basketball, which has shown that the residency program does not work. Basketball has serious racial issues. Not that there are no enthic issues in CDN soccer, but at the end of the day, we should not try to emulate basketball's programs.

In my opinion, there are simple steps that could be done immediately to improve the structure of sports in Canada and that is to offer sports-based scholarship in all Canadian Universities. As was said by someone -- provide a safety net for parents and kids willing to invest their 12 -17 y.o time. This is when players are formed. This is an essential step 1 in the process.

The next step is to forget 5-12 y.o co-ed programs -- they do more bad than good -- kids do not develop at all but pick bad habits. In this age kids ought to concentrate on developing their motor skills by experiencing as many sports as they can -- dancing, swimming, gymnastics, basketball, hockey, etc. Kids can play soccer on the street and in their backyard, learn tricks etc.

Then the question is how do we develop 12-16 years. There are many schools of thought, but the bottom line is to have a system because time is of the essense. Canada is so diverse country that we can afford to set up different systems across regions, we can look to the Dutch, the Brazilians, the germans, etc. But if we do not develop the kids by 16, its game over. The key is quality coaches, not volunteers. "Sports" school is one option. Sports school where students specialize in a given sport are common in Europe. Or a league.

The problem is -- these years are not exciting to watch -- you cant charge admission or fill a stadium. And you can't find quality coaches, if you don’t have top dollar. So someone has to pay for it. If you want top clubs to pay for it by way of setting up shop here, then they will want a return on their investment, i.e. if a player from their youth academy does not sign a contract when he is 18 with the team, but with another club, then a set fee ought to be paid. That might be difficult to do however legally as it would involve agreements betewen UEFA, MSL, etc.. If you want CSA to pay for it, then they have to get the money from somewhere, be it rich sponsors, or a league.

Another MLS team here or there in Canada won't do anyone any good. Sure, pple might go and pay to watch, but that money fills up the coffers of the owners. The team might do a try-out and pick 5-10 players to train with team? What good does that do for other kids that are not picked? And honestly, we can see the results from this u20 when the toronto fc guys were, as someone else said, found wanting. I mean -- look at Lomabrdo -- I don't know what they do with him at TFC, but it is obvious something very wrong, as he does not have upper body strenght or finishing skills at all. are

[Macksam]

quote:Originally posted by putkaputka

Another MLS team here or there in Canada won't do anyone any good. Sure, pple might go and pay to watch, but that money fills up the coffers of the owners. The team might do a try-out and pick 5-10 players to train with team? What good does that do for other kids that are not picked? And honestly, we can see the results from this u20 when the toronto fc guys were, as someone else said, found wanting. I mean -- look at Lomabrdo -- I don't know what they do with him at TFC, but it is obvious something very wrong, as he does not have upper body strenght or finishing skills at all. are

MLS teams are required to set up youth academies now. So it will do everyone good.

quote:

Good idea, a partnership. I like Olympique Montreal a lot. I had no idea Gillette was interested in MLS in Canada. I like this idea a lot. Yes, and maybe the Canucks and Kerfoot can join forces. Hell, maybe Toronto can host a second team, and maybe Ottawa can join the fold, too.

I think Brampton could have a team. Our population is over 500 000 now and it's the most popular sport here.

quote:

Hockey (and to a lesser extent basketball) also dilutes the pool of elite athletes to draw from. Who knows how many soccer stars could have been made from Canadians who currently play pro hockey? Often times, elite athletes (or those with elite potential) around the ages of 12-14 are excelling in multiple sports and have to choose one. So I am sure that not only have potential talents quit soccer because they don't see a "clear path", but they quit to pursue alternate sports. It would be interesting to know how many top jr. soccer players quit to pursue hockey. In countries where soccer is #1 (and I mean #1 not in number of registrations, but in terms of overall popularity) the elite youth multi-sport athlete chooses soccer.

Maybe for Basketball and Football but definately not soccer. When I was playing competitively, I had an average build and average endurance but still made the "elite ahtletes" look stupid on the pitch.