TFC Academy to form Thunder Bay academy?

[kyam]

So apparently TFC Academy might start a Northern Ontario Regional youth development program in conjunction with the Thunder Bay Chill of the PDL.

They will allow the Chill to use the TFC Academy logo as brand power for their Youth development program. In the future, one of the Senior PDL players might get a chance to start for TFC<s first team.

http://torontofc.neulion.com/tfc/console.jsp?catid=2&id=1455

While I think this is a great idea, to start developing across the province (Something the Whitecaps already do)... my only question is, why TFC Academy is approaching a team in Thunder Bay, when the PDL Lynks are right in their backyard.

Ottawa Fury are also a very strong PDL team and it is far closer than Thunder Bay.

[TFCRegina]

Because it's easier to scout the players in the area where you are. Thunder Bay is far away and TFC wants to corner the Ontario market. The logical move for them is to invest 0 in players locally until they're ready to be brought into the academy, it's not like Toronto based clubs aren't puking up talented players (De Ro, De Guz, Serioux, Nana...). Invest 0, grab them when you can, and then move on. Putting a regional academy in Thunder Bay makes sense because it gives you scouting knowledge in a region where you don't have people. Thank you, Football Manager.

By the way, how are you these days? And how goes Ottawa?

[finchster]

Isn't the Ottawa Fury trying to join the TOA clubs next year?

Well if Ottawa is trying to become a larger club it makes sense they wouldn't want to be affilated with TFC

[VPjr]

This is a pretty smart strategic decision in my view.

The Chill are run by a very capable and intelligent soccer person. I have no doubt that they are incredibly well connected in Northern Ontario and likely into Manitoba.

TFC is still relatively wet behind the ears when it comes to scouting of youth players here in their home territory. Their key player personnel people (Mo, Tim Regan) are far more in tune to what is going on south of the border than in their home territory (with good reason since the rules governing bringing players up through the academy are cumbersome and ridiculous so why waste the energy?).

Having said that, it makes just as much sense to create a regional/satellite Academy in the Ottawa area (if not more sense). That region has been equally underserved by provincial development programs as Northern and Northwestern Ontario have been and TFC would be very wise to take advantage of this reality and set up programs up there. I'm sure Fury (or the group seeking to join TOA) don't want to see this happen as I'm sure they would have plans for their own Academies to feed their own senior teams and would clearly look to draw players from eastern Ontario and elsewhere.