Macksam Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this yet. Anyhow, they're seeking a "partner" to bring this thing to life: http://www.theaircanadacentre.com/assets/default/Practice%20Facility.pdf (PDF) http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/05/tfc-announces-major-soccer-initiatives (Article) I read the PDF and I'm liking what I see from this youth approach when it comes to the younger prospects. Instead of having one under 10 team or whatever, they partner with various clubs who have agreed to develop players in a certain way to TFC's liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 Club Academy Program looks like a solid initiative! "Working in coordination with the Toronto FC Academy, the CAPs will demand a premium level of training that will allow for involved players, ages 7 to 16, to be monitored and scouted in hopes of joining the Toronto FC Academy as full-time members. The CAPs will create training environments that simulate the professional experience that Toronto FC’s current Academy teams are accustomed to, and through club cooperation, will allow for friendly competition and collaboration for additional scouting opportunities. In addition, an exchange of coaching information, workshops and seminars will be provided to the participating clubs... ...The following programs are the first to join the CAP: Barrie SC, Bryst International, Capital United SC (Ottawa), Cavan FC, Pickering SC, Nepean Hotspurs SC, Thunder Bay Chill, and Unionville-Milliken SC. Several other clubs have expressed interest and will likely be added to the CAP in Phase 2 (late summer/early fall 2010)." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyam Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this yet. Anyhow, they're seeking a "partner" to bring this thing to life: http://www.theaircanadacentre.com/assets/default/Practice%20Facility.pdf (PDF) http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/05/tfc-announces-major-soccer-initiatives (Article) I read the PDF and I'm liking what I see from this youth approach when it comes to the younger prospects. Instead of having one under 10 team or whatever, they partner with various clubs who have agreed to develop players in a certain way to TFC's liking. I started a thread on this in the "other men's league" forum, http://www.cansoc.org/showthread.php?39778-TFC-Academy-gets-new-facility Coulda put it in the TFC forum, but the CSL thread's tend to have a lot of discussion on development leagues and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyam Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 ...The following programs are the first to join the CAP: Barrie SC, Bryst International, Capital United SC (Ottawa), Cavan FC, Pickering SC, Nepean Hotspurs SC, Thunder Bay Chill, and Unionville-Milliken SC. Several other clubs have expressed interest and will likely be added to the CAP in Phase 2 (late summer/early fall 2010)." The CAP looks like a good initiative on paper... However, I looked up the websites of some of the affiliate youth clubs in the Ottawa area (Capital United SC & the Nepean Hotspurs), and their is no indication on the their websites that they are connected to the TFC Academy. I also did some research on the Thunderbay Chill a couple months ago, and also found no connection on their website to the TFC Academy despite developing a partnership with them in 2009. I wonder how deeply entrenched this partnership is? Is it merely just a paper agreement for TFC scouts to favor these clubs? Or does TFC staff actually work with these youth clubs? The PDF file seems to indicate that the TFC Academy U16 and U18 programs includes housing, meals and education. Does that mean the U16 & U18 teams are Residency programs much like the Whtiecaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 ^ Yes, they are supposed to be fully residency as of last year. The kids billet with families...but there just hasn't been very many kids from out of the area so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ag futbol Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Sounds like early days yet.. but i'm a little surprised at the list of clubs they have so far. The non-GTA ones look fine but not exactly who i was expecting when they said they'd be working with clubs who have provided players in the past. More petty politics perhaps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 Last thing most top youth clubs would want is to lose the star player that could help them to win a national title to a pro team's youth academy unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 Last thing most top youth clubs would want is to lose the star player that could help them to win a national title to a pro team's youth academy unfortunately. I doubt those youth clubs are going to sign up for this CAP program then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 The progressive clubs will sign on, but alot probably won't...then there are the clubs with TD's who have connections abroad and who may want to send the players over to their buddies (and possibly ca$h in?) who would not want to see the kids signing with Toronto FC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyam Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 Last thing most top youth clubs would want is to lose the star player that could help them to win a national title to a pro team's youth academy unfortunately. Some of the youth clubs may find prestige in sending a lot of talent to domestic Pro-clubs. Most clubs won't be sending their kids to top level Euro-academies. Having their kids brought to MLS academies is the next best thing. While the "stronger" youth clubs continue to win National champions, they may eventually ask, "why aren't our championship winning players being selected onto the TFC Academy?" Who knows what goes through the minds of coaches and parents. I would think that the ultimate goal for parents/coaches are to have their kids succeed... Is winning the Memorial Cup more important than getting drafted into the NHL for Jr. Hockey players? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 some of the youth clubs may find prestige in sending a lot of talent to domestic pro-clubs. Most clubs won't be sending their kids to top level euro-academies. Having their kids brought to mls academies is the next best thing. While the "stronger" youth clubs continue to win national champions, they may eventually ask, "why aren't our championship winning players being selected onto the tfc academy?" who knows what goes through the minds of coaches and parents. I would think that the ultimate goal for parents/coaches are to have their kids succeed... Is winning the memorial cup more important than getting drafted into the nhl for jr. Hockey players? qft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.