What a pathetic mission statement by the CSA...

[Moosehead]

I think Ken Read former President of Alpine would die laughing at the CSA's mediocre mission statement: Note the conflict in the CSA mission for excellence to recreational. Note, how the CSA is afraid to say WIN, its not a dirty word.

CSA Statement:

"Leading Canada to victory and to Canadian to a life-long passion for soccer"

Values ...A Positive Soccer Environment

Alpine Canada

OUR VISION

Established in November 2003 through a unanimous acceptance of the organization’s “Vision for the day after the 2010 Games”, Alpine Canada Alpin has established our principles to guide the “national mission” for the leadership of Canadian ski racing:

Deliver the human, technical and financial resources for the athletes of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team and the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team, required for athletic leadership in World Cup, World Championship and Olympic/Paralympic competition.

Build our success on the relentless pursuit of excellence, transforming the Canadian ski racing system, to incorporate this philosophy through coaching education, leadership, and enriched environment for athletes from the entry level to the Olympic and Paralympic Teams.

Aim to win at least 4 medals at the 2010 Olympics and 17 at the Paralympics, with 75% of Canadian results at the 2010 Games being in the top 12.

Develop a sustainable athlete development system that ensures we will continue to deliver podium results in alpine ski racing.

OUR MISSION

Win. Build Canadian pride in our athletes, our coaches, our programs and our system through international success in World Cup, Olympic, Paralympic and World Championship competition.

Create for Canada, the best alpine ski racing athletes in the world; male and female athletes who will consistently achieve internationally recognized podium results.

Build a sustainable, world-class athlete development system, through relentless effort to offer “best in the world” standards and delivery “at every level” for training and competition.

As the National Governing Body for ski racing in Canada, to fulfill the mandate of leadership for excellence and sport participation through organizing, governing and regulating all levels of participation, from the entry level to the Olympic and Paralympic Team.

Give athletes at all levels of competition the opportunity to experience our sport and to develop as good skiers, good citizens and advocates of amateur sports.

OUR OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES

Alpine Canada Alpin is a performance-centered, athlete-focused organization, demonstrating leadership through:

The development of superior programs which ensure athletes at every level are provided with the training environment to succeed and strong leadership within our High Performance Programs which strive to meet and exceed international standards at all levels.

The planning, development, and execution of outstanding events.

External relations with agencies who value Alpine Canada Alpin as a reliable and valued partner.

Management of the business of ski racing on sound financial principles, transparent processes, and exceeding the expectations of our commercial partners and within acceptable risk.

Continuous investment in human resources, to ensure we attract the best possible people to work within Canadian ski racing.

A priority to public relations and media, to ensure the story of Canadian ski racing is told.

Leading Canadian ski racing through the principles of openness, transparency, accountability and respect.

[denis]

Alpine Canada has seen more positive results in the last couple of seasons after being largely being off the world stage for some time. Since Ken took over there has been marked improvement. What have they changed? Where are they getting their funding from? How different is their (or was their?) structure from the CSA?

[Joe MacCarthy]

I wonder if the skill set Ken has would translate to the CSA, I think it would. A winning attitude, fund raising, professionalism, schmoozing with high level contacts, that is what the CSA needs.

Ken resigned in July because of a rule prohibiting parents of NT skiers from occupying executive positions. I don't know if he has found a new job.

Edit: Since taking over as ACA’s president in 2002 -- following the Canadian team’s failure to win a single medal at that year’s Olympics in Salt Lake -- Read oversaw the development of ACA’s budget from nearly $7 million to more than $20 million. He intends to return to the sports consulting company he ran prior to joining ACA.

Former Alpine Canada Alpin Chief Executive Officer Ken Read will lead Alberta Alpine, filling the position of President, which was vacated by Thomas Grandi who resigned in July to pursue his dream of Olympic gold.

[Kevin McMillan]

I'd love to see Ken Read take over the CSA... who cares if he knows a lick about soccer, he turned around the Alpine program and it had nothing to do with his ability to ski. He's proved himself as an administrator, and I think a demanding personality like his is needed to make something of this mess we're in.

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Kevin McMillan

I'd love to see Ken Read take over the CSA... who cares if he knows a lick about soccer, he turned around the Alpine program and it had nothing to do with his ability to ski. He's proved himself as an administrator, and I think a demanding personality like his is needed to make something of this mess we're in.

I do.

Different creatures entirely. The tests Read would face within a CSA organization are nothing like anything he'd have faced over at Alpine Canada. Bureaucratically, political or by scale. Not saying he'd find himself in over his head, because maybe he wouldn't be, but I am suggesting Read's successes at Alpine Canada shouldn't be used as a gauge in predicting what positive effect he could have at the CSA. That his successes at Alpine Canada are unlikely to be mirrored within the Canadian Soccer Association. For the simple reason apples aren't oranges.

What is more, the value of Ken Read's good name is less than worthless inside soccer circles in Canada. He'd been disarmed of one of his more valuable weapons.

Get where you're going. But I'm cynical of that sort of approach. The CSA BoDs spent millions seeing Nykamp off and he wasn't even hired apparently and the position to which he wasn't hired for, one of meaningful authority created by Linford evaporated in a puff of smoke.

[Moosehead]

I just read the CSA's strategic plan and I have never read such an awful document in my life. No plan and full of bureaucratic fluff. Must have been thrown together to stop calls for change after 20 years of failing to have the Senior Men reach the world cup. A elementary student could have produced something better.

A lot of pictures of kids and registration no.'s increasing. A lot of bullets in strategic plan of fostering relations with Fifa and Sport Canada. How is increasing relations with Fifa and Sport Canada going to make us more competitive at soccer. How about hiring more international coaches, a league etc. that would be a good strategic plan.

Here is the vision statement at the end and I cannot even make it out as the wording is so bad:

Our vision is one whereby the Association envisions

each priority with the same spirit, whether at the

recreational level or the performance-based level,

and for our national teams at the developmental

level and at senior level.

It is so sad that we have to put up with such an organization. Also no offence to the Yukon and NWT but do they need reps from these regions? Should a Sports organization model the country and if so maybe we should have a senate and supreme court built into the organization. A Sports Organization should be run like a company and not a country. It should be about shareholders (Clubs) and Directors and Officer appointed by the shareholders.

[Richard]

"A Sports Organization should be run like a company.... It should be about shareholders... and Directors and Officers appointed by the shareholders."

Couldn't agree more. The board of directors should set policy and provide overall direction, not involve themselves in the day to day operation/management of the organisation. There should also be a professional CEO with full authority under the bylaws/constitution, accountable to the Board. I believe this is more or less what Deloitte & Touche recommended but their report was suppressed by the CSA, perhaps because the directors perceived it as diminishing their personal influence and authority. Until we see these changes within our national organisation it will continue to be run by amateurs and we will not progress.

[VPjr]

^ hear hear.

Forget the CSF project I worked on (there's lots of good ideas there, if I do say so myself) but if the CSA would simply adopt the recommendations found in the D&T report that they commissioned (and paid handsomely for), they would be so much further along in reforming the organization and there would be real hope for a better future, regardless of the disappointment of this past WCQ campaign. Instead, as Richard so aptly puts it above "it will continue to be run by amateurs and we will not progress".

for those who have not read the D&T report, its found on the CSF website (the CSA never made it public)... www.canadiansoccerfederation.ca

On a seperate but related note, one thing that bothers me so much about the CSA is that it likes to incessantly pat itself on the back and tout "participation" numbers as a sign that they are doing a good job. I'd argue that if the CSA let the provinces worry about the recreational side of the game and simply focus itself on developing and promoting the elite side of the sport and properly developing (and funding) the NT programs, the results on the field would improve and the participation numbers that they think are good now will be even greater because, with an improved elite stream, the retention rates in youth soccer would skyrocket as kids start to believe there is a future for them in soccer. As it is, kids leave the sport so early (huge drop out rate at U10 level) because there is so little reason to stick with it. Imagine how good it would be for the provincial and CSA bottom lines if they could keep an extra 100,000 to 200,000 players in the system. That's a lot of money that they are losing due to huge drop out rates and a lot less athletes leaving for other sports.

[Moosehead]

to VpJr

Why not schedule a meeting in Toronto and invite some leading clubs from BC, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec and also invite Kerfoot and Saputo and a Canadian National Team Rep. Discuss your idea of forming a new Federation with a more manageable and democratic structure. State that your proposal will have a smaller board with full time paid CEO. All clubs would have a vote provided that they had a high performance mandate. Ask them whether they would be interested in funding the new venture. State the reasons why such a new organization is required. 20 years of unfilled promises from the CSA, the fact that the organization has no credibility with clubs throughout Canada and no one can trust the organization. It is damaging to soccer in Canada and this damage also impacts on the general support and credibility of soccer in general which ultimately reflects back on the pro clubs. This organization then would support high end competitions abroad and training camps for the elite clubs.

I would think in the meantime it would be advisable for the national team players to concentrate on their club soccer until the issue of which organization should represent the national teams.

Perhaps the Voyageurs could help out with your initial expenses of hiring a boardroom and catering etc. and any help you may need with administration etc. to present your proposal.

[Levi Oakey]

Maybe we should do a MyFootballFederation! Everyone pitches in 40 dollars a year and we get to sack the CEO and "Sporting Director"!