New Ontario Player Development League

[Soccerpro]

Recently announced at the OSA coaching conference.

Looks the OSA has finally realized SAAC has been doing it right for the past 6 years.

http://www.ontariosoccer.net/Portals/11/LTPD/OPDL.pdf

The only thing I'm not seeing is an established minimum training/game ratio.

So now B.C and Ontario will have leagues based on solid development footing. How much longer until other provinces follow?

I emailed the Nova Scotia soccer league a few months ago and pointed our how detrimental to player development their leagueis. Does anyone think I ever recieved a response? Of course not.

At a minimum there is no reason why Tier 1 leagues in every other province in Canada can't:

1. Implement a 3:1 training to game ratio

2. Mandatory TD or Head coach certification.

3. Play every Saturday instead of several times thru out the week

4. Extend the length of the season

[ThiKu]

Will be watching the OPDL very close. Very exciting stuff if done correctly. Hoping it is the start of a nationwide network similar to SYL or USSDA.

The OPDL was developed partly based on the BCSPL.

[Soccerpro]

Will be watching the OPDL very close. Very exciting stuff if done correctly. Hoping it is the start of a nationwide network similar to SYL or USSDA.

The OPDL was developed partly based on the BCSPL.

Yes, clearly following the USSDA model.

[Mark83]

I'm guessing this would be a solid fourth division similar to the USL-PDL?

Interesting that on page 32 they listed the next steps for players as Ontario League 1 [?] National Division 2 [?] and Major League Soccer. Seems like they're anticipating OL1 taking the place of CSL and a Canadian D2 running alongside NASL. Wouldn't this new leagues U-23 division be in competition with the proposed OL1??

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

They have until 2019 to sort out how those fit together by the looks of things in their PDF. Definitely well worth noting that they state the adult pyramid from 2013 onwards as being "MLS, ND2? and OL1?". I wouldn't go as far as stating that they anticipate a Canadian D2 running alongside the NASL given the presence of the question mark.

[An Observer]

A very interesting model. I like how they start small and build year on year with the intention by year 6 of having a complete amateur pyaramid from U13 to U23. They also will finally condense in Ontario the top players into about 20 teams from a young age that will give a high quality of competition to these players. This should eventually rival the USSDA for quality if done right. Also, the slow build up over that period should allow clubs to embedd within the community as the top tier of soccer which will hopefully develop some loyalty amongst players, family and supporters that should translate into fan support for the U23 side (and OL1 side). It also looks to me like the bottoms up approach here will dovetail nicely with the OL1's top down approach where their stated aim is to develop a proleague by leveraging existing clubs in their communities.

I think there will be some competition for the 20 or so spots especially in some communities that now support a few top club sides. I like the fact that these clubs will be constantly reviewed as it means that those not actually pulling their weight can be replaced.

At the end of the day, I wonder whether the U23 league and the OL1 will morph into the same thing or some clubs in the OPDL will combined to support only one joint U23/OL1 side. While I can see a 20 team Ontario league for U23 like there is for hockey, I can't see that for pro. For Pro, I am still a believer that having Canadian sides in the NASL and USL 1 is the way to go as even with hockey, we support very few pure pro franchises (7 NHL, 5 AHL).

[Protega]

It seems to me that certain areas will be shut out from this league from a practical standpoint (Ottawa in particular) because of the proposed scheduling. Having one club host all teams from their division in any given week means some clubs will be travelling long distances nearly every weekend. If we assume there could be two teams from the Ottawa area in a division of 12 clubs, the Ottawa clubs might only play locally four times throughout the year. Which means travelling to the GTA (most likely) approximately 20 times during the season - 6 months of which will be during the school year. Having clubs play half their games at home would ease this burden for clubs outside of the GTA, without increasing travel commitments for the GTA clubs (they would have to travel to those out-of-town clubs once a season regardless).

I suppose the alternative is that Ottawa clubs may start looking to playing in the Quebec league (if that is still an option), or parents will start moving their children to clubs based in west Quebec in order to get access to strong competition.

[ThiKu]

The intent of centralized games makes a lot of sense - but this is defo a downside. Be interesting to see which 10-12 clubs are granted membership in year 1.

[Protega]

The intent of centralized games makes a lot of sense - but this is defo a downside. Be interesting to see which 10-12 clubs are granted membership in year 1.

Does anyone know what the intent of the centralized games is? I've been scratching my head about that one. All I can think of is that the host club only needs physio staff for the couple of weekends they host, as opposed to requiring them for all home games.

[L.T.]

Will be watching the OPDL very close. Very exciting stuff if done correctly. Hoping it is the start of a nationwide network similar to SYL or USSDA.

The OPDL was developed partly based on the BCSPL.

But mostly based on SAAC... http://saac.ca/?link=standards

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

It seems to me that certain areas will be shut out from this league from a practical standpoint (Ottawa in particular) because of the proposed scheduling. Having one club host all teams from their division in any given week means some clubs will be travelling long distances nearly every weekend.....

Sounds about par for the course for the OSA. People in Toronto never seem to be able to grasp how big the province is and the implications that has for the types of league structure that can reasonably be adopted. If the travel is too demanding players in cities distant from the GTA often stick to the local league rather than playing at the provincial level with the result that the team that is doing all the travelling isn't even close to the best that the city has to offer. Would have thought multiple divisions based on the region structure would be a lot more realistic than an east - west split.

Beyond that this Ontario plan probably is a good example of the limits of the influence of the CSA. For better or worse Canada has a very strong system of decentralized organization through federalism and the provinces have a very strong say at what happens in youth development and senior level leagues up to D3 level. That means the agenda for anything below D2 level (i.e. leagues like the NASL and USL Pro) is probably going to be set primarily by the provincial associations, which is something that people who view things from the CMNT sort of standpoint that is the norm on this forum tend to overlook sometimes.

[VPjr]

People in Toronto never seem to be able to grasp how big the province is and the implications that has for the types of league structure that can reasonably be adopted. If the travel is too demanding players in cities distant from the GTA often stick to the local league rather than playing at the provincial level with the result that the team that is doing all the travelling isn't even close to the best that the city has to offer. Would have thought multiple divisions based on the region structure would be a lot more realistic than an east - west split.

The East/West split is what has been proposed for years 2014/2015, assuming there will be up to 20 organizations who meet the standards.

However, if more organizations than 20 can eventually meet the standard, don't be surprised if the split is East/Central/West.

That said, no structure will ever satisfy everyone. By playing games on weekends and dividing regions as best as possible to limit travel as much as possible, it has the potential to ease some of the travel issues. There is no perfect system and the standards are going to be stringent enough that not everyone will be able to take part, at least not in the short term. I'm sure you will agree that we do not want to dilute the player pool.

I suggest people be patient, wait for the working group to continue to hash out certain details and then lets see who meets the standards.

[VPjr]

Does anyone know what the intent of the centralized games is? I've been scratching my head about that one. All I can think of is that the host club only needs physio staff for the couple of weekends they host, as opposed to requiring them for all home games.

a key reason for centralizing games is to be able to bring all the best players in certain age groups together to 1 location to make scouting by provincial and national coaches/ easier. there are some other considerations but this is a big one that was focused on at the OSA AGM last week

[jpg75]

a key reason for centralizing games is to be able to bring all the best players in certain age groups together to 1 location to make scouting by provincial and national coaches/ easier. there are some other considerations but this is a big one that was focused on at the OSA AGM last week

That actually makes a lot of sense, it should cut down on the number of elite players who get overlooked.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

a key reason for centralizing games is to be able to bring all the best players in certain age groups together to 1 location to make scouting by provincial and national coaches/ easier. there are some other considerations but this is a big one that was focused on at the OSA AGM last week

Can see the rationale behind it but maybe something that could be done a few times per season rather than every week?

[Protega]

Can see the rationale behind it but maybe something that could be done a few times per season rather than every week?

I think that would be a better idea. I don't see the need for scouts to watch them play every single weekend.

As for not overlooking players, I think quite a few players would get overlooked because realistically, there won't be sufficient participation from areas further away from Toronto. By having almost all games based in Toronto, you'll have fewer clubs from outside the GTA participate and of those who do enter the league, I doubt they will be drawing all of the top players in their areas. I can just imagine my wife's reaction if I were to tell her our son will be going away 15 - 20 weekends during the school year.

[jpg75]

I think that would be a better idea. I don't see the need for scouts to watch them play every single weekend.

As for not overlooking players, I think quite a few players would get overlooked because realistically, there won't be sufficient participation from areas further away from Toronto. By having almost all games based in Toronto, you'll have fewer clubs from outside the GTA participate and of those who do enter the league, I doubt they will be drawing all of the top players in their areas. I can just imagine my wife's reaction if I were to tell her our son will be going away 15 - 20 weekends during the school year.

I said cutting down on players being overlooked, not completely eradicating it.

The bulk of scouting would obviously be done at the Toronto-area games, but that doesn't mean all of it would happen there. Atleast now resources can be conserved and coaches might actually make trips outside the GTA instead of shuffling between OYSL games all over Southern Ont. At this moment, how many times do you think they go out to Ottawa? Probably never.

[ThiKu]

Why do folks keep saying "20 clubs"...the document released and the tweets pretty clearly state 10-12 per age group, per gender. So yes, I suppose that equals 20 but what I suspect will happen is there will be 10-12 clubs that can each provide a boys & girls program...at EVERY age level. IE, if you can't eventually provide a u13-u18 male-female program don't bother applying. (NOT confirmed beyond the 10-12 per age group note).

[Protega]

Why do folks keep saying "20 clubs"...the document released and the tweets pretty clearly state 10-12 per age group, per gender. So yes, I suppose that equals 20 but what I suspect will happen is there will be 10-12 clubs that can each provide a boys & girls program...at EVERY age level. IE, if you can't eventually provide a u13-u18 male-female program don't bother applying. (NOT confirmed beyond the 10-12 per age group note).

The 10 - 12 clubs is per division, which there will be two of at each age group, for each gender. So they are contemplating 20-24 clubs at each age group, for each of the boys and girls divisions.

As for the comments about scouting, I agree that the provincial scouts don't come to Ottawa, but at least there are a number of Ottawa teams playing OYSL right now and those players are being scouted at games played in the GTA. There are 8 Ottawa teams in the U-14 to U-17 divisions, but I would expect this to decrease under the proposed OPDL. Note that no Ottawa clubs choose to enter teams in the U-18 division because they simply enter the ERSL U-21, play at a similar level and avoid excessive travel.

[ThiKu]

Ah, two divisions per age group @ 10 teams per does equal about 20 teams.

Is the population of Ontario so good that 10 teams per division to equal 20 per age group is justified? Will the standard of play remain as high as possible to justify the intention of it being the top of the youth pyramid? I genuinely wonder. BC's premier league, for example, is 8 teams per age group. Period. Covering a smaller population of course.

[Protega]

Ah, two divisions per age group @ 10 teams per does equal about 20 teams.

Is the population of Ontario so good that 10 teams per division to equal 20 per age group is justified? Will the standard of play remain as high as possible to justify the intention of it being the top of the youth pyramid? I genuinely wonder. BC's premier league, for example, is 8 teams per age group. Period. Covering a smaller population of course.

Makes you wonder. Isn't the US development league only 80 teams (for a population of maybe 30 times Ontario's)? I guess they also have the Super Y league, which is a similar system.

[ThiKu]

^that's kind of why I wonder. Especially since they made the bold statement that the OPDL will be competitive with USSDA! Whitecaps are right at the top of their u16/u18 groups but not dominating. TFCA would do very well, similar to Caps, in USSDA, so I don't see any of the OPDL teams being that good. OPDL will be a SYL-quality type of league. Which is good, but not great. With 20 teams per age group. Chop that down to 10, and then create a very clear 2nd division (so the best truly are in the "top 10" teams) and you'd really have something with regards to playing standards.

To be determined I suppose.

[jpg75]

So are the "divisions" basically a splitting of the tier geographically? If so then I don't see how OPDL is really any better in quality than what currently exists with OYSL. Yeah, you're enforcing certain standards (ie. coaching, club professionalism, no pro/rel) but you still have 20 teams and 300-400 players at each age. Much better to chop it down to 12 teams or something like that.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

It may not be completely coincidental that there are 21 districts within the OSA. If you only had ten teams then it wouldn't just be those in northern Ontario that would wind up on the outside looking in. Some large districts (in number of registered player terms) in the Windsor - Quebec corridor would also have to be left without a team and some very awkward decisions probably would have to be made in the GTA to choose one club per district. Given the internal voting structure of the OSA that would probably be a very tough sell at an AGM.

[Gordon]

Sorry, but I don't think comparing anything to the US development model is a sound idea. Their model has the advantage of being less crappy than our own but it is hardly one to emulate. So, how many teams does Holland have per capita (1.25x Ontario's population, or 2x Southern Ontario)? Or Germany, Spain, Brazil, even Croatia? Set the bar high, and work to clear it.