What should help the youth now?

[Canadian_Soccer]

Well we all hope that drastic changes will be made at a young grassroots level to eventually make better players for Canada. However, my question is will/should any changes be made now at the youth level? I know it is short sighted, but if the youth players were to improve due to some changes, it may lead to a stronger side sooner. Would it be worth it for them to put the funding to improve programs for players 14+ at the moment, or would it be better to wait a little while?

Personally I think there should be more exposure to national opportunities which would certainly inspire others to try to make the national side. If a player gets an opportunity to train at a national level for a camp or something, word would be passed around as people would see that they can make it and want to represent canada. Many great youth players slow down in development in their teenage years and therefore don't go as far and don't get the exposure to the national level. so what i'm saying is if the programs at the youth levels are improved and it becomes easier to get noticed by the national side, will it eventually lead to success?

[tyler453]

Well we all hope that drastic changes will be made at a young grassroots level to eventually make better players for Canada. However, my question is will/should any changes be made now at the youth level? I know it is short sighted, but if the youth players were to improve due to some changes, it may lead to a stronger side sooner. Would it be worth it for them to put the funding to improve programs for players 14+ at the moment, or would it be better to wait a little while?

Personally I think there should be more exposure to national opportunities which would certainly inspire others to try to make the national side. If a player gets an opportunity to train at a national level for a camp or something, word would be passed around as people would see that they can make it and want to represent canada. Many great youth players slow down in development in their teenage years and therefore don't go as far and don't get the exposure to the national level. so what i'm saying is if the programs at the youth levels are improved and it becomes easier to get noticed by the national side, will it eventually lead to success?

What do you mean wait a little while to fund youth programs?

We just got eliminated from WCQ and have no friendlies scheduled at the moment. This is the time to act.

What's your opinion of a more suitable time to fund?

[Trillium]

Well we all hope that drastic changes will be made at a young grassroots level to eventually make better players for Canada. However, my question is will/should any changes be made now at the youth level? I know it is short sighted, but if the youth players were to improve due to some changes, it may lead to a stronger side sooner. Would it be worth it for them to put the funding to improve programs for players 14+ at the moment, or would it be better to wait a little while?

Personally I think there should be more exposure to national opportunities which would certainly inspire others to try to make the national side. If a player gets an opportunity to train at a national level for a camp or something, word would be passed around as people would see that they can make it and want to represent canada. Many great youth players slow down in development in their teenage years and therefore don't go as far and don't get the exposure to the national level. so what i'm saying is if the programs at the youth levels are improved and it becomes easier to get noticed by the national side, will it eventually lead to success?

The current plan in Ontario is to work with u9, 10, and 11 progressively changing the structure players at u14 and above today will not be involved in changes as planned by the Technical Directors of the Big clubs, they are essentially abandoned as talent to muddle through as they can. This the plan put forward by some of the SACC folks and club techincal directors and has been adopted or is in the process of adoption by the OSA technical department.

Remember a u14 in 2012, in 2018 will be 20 years old and then in 2022 will be 24 years old... a u9 today will be 15 in 2018 and in 2022 will be 19, so you have basically written off two cycles of development in Ontario if the LTPD program produces results.

The folks running the program will then have been in jobs for ten plus years .... and well ready to move on if someone does a value added study and finds things have not worked, hence no accountability in the process at all.

Think things are going to get better at this pace ?

[Canadian_Soccer]

Sorry if i wasnt too clear, What needs to be done to improve players 14+ so that we will be better in the next 2 cycles? Right now it's the young age groups (u8, u9) that the focus is on for a long term plan. But they won't be effective players for Canada in a long time, so should we also shift our focus to the youth in order to get positive results in the next 2 cycles.

The last thing we need is to continue to do poorly and lose fans, that's why I think it's vital to improve our youth programs now.

[madmonte]

In your opinion, how should this be gone about? Teams like the Whitecaps and TFC are doing their best to implement their own programs that are seperate from the CSA and are privately funded. Isn't that similar to how England does it? I know we are certainly not England, where the popularity of the sport speaks for itself, however. That's why we are a great hockey nation, all the kids want to play hockey. A sports popularity in a country often determines the level of involvement.

But in terms of private vs public sector funding...it's quite possible that our MLS teams will do more to enrich the youth environment than the CSA would ever have been capable of anyways. I'm all for the CSA supporting it, and funding it in terms of Canadian content as well, but in terms of THAT aspect of youth development, I'm thinking we are all better off if the CSA keeps their noses out.

Then they can concentrate on youth development elsewhere, and if some of those youths get picked up by teams making money, all the better for their development.

Still...marketing is a big issue here. We have to make it a sport that the talented kids WANT to play instead of other sports somehow. That's the real issue that needs to get solved...how to market it and present it and repackage soccer so the youths want to play it. And I think the biggest start to that has already been accomplished. MLS teams in 3 Canadian cities. NASL coming to Ottawa, and looking to get even more. Creating a professional environment to play in within Canada could be coming too, if the MLS continues to grow.

I guess we'll see...but what I'm saying is, many of these steps ARE already in place, it's not as though absolutely nothing is being done. Of course some of it is outside the scope of the CSA, but 10 years ago, people were desperately wishing, even on these forum boards, for what we currently have...a CHANCE to start development.

Let's look at the bright side here...we could easily be better within 10-15 years, if everything is kept on course and profitable. So that is where I think the focus should go

[Canadian_Soccer]

I think all coaches at an elite level should have to take the CSA 'A' liscense because better coaching = better players. I really like what the mls academies are doing so I think there should be an academie set up in Edmonton and Ottawa (NASL). I feel that would really help as we would have 5 academies to grow players.

I also think it would be great if the CSA sent a guy like tony fonseca to a few cities (not Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver) and run a few sessions with different clubs. This would show a few techniques that the coach can use to improve their players and also gives a first hand look at some players. It would certainly inspire the team and players to represent Canada. I remember when an academy coach from Everton FC came over and ran a few sessions and all of us players loved it and gave us motivation to better ourselves.

Plus it might bring in a little bit of cash for the CSA

[Soccerpro]

Small steps for the youth

1. Have standards based top tier leagues in each Province with mininimum training to game ratios and coaching qualification (no reason it can't be done)

2. Each Province should have a sports academy similar to the one already in Manitoba http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/schooling-future-soccer-stars-87318982.html A Manitoba u18 boys team won club nationals this year, the u18 girls team from Manitoba finished 2nd, coincidence? I think not.

3. Each Province/ bigger club should try to have a meaningful partnership with a European/South American Pro club which results in meaningful opportunities for players for exposure (ie Quebec with FC Metz, which has been productive, NOT Ontario with Everton which has been a waste) This is how Lucas Cavillini made it to where he is today, a club relationship - no one "scouted him" on his own in Ontario. For many players in Canada, it doesn't matter how good they because they'll never been seen by anyone at the next level.

4. Clubs/Provinces should sit down and try to get guidance/oversight from coaches with a proven track record for player development - ie FCNW u18 from Winnipeg won the u18 club nationals this year IN ADDITION to previously having placed a player with TFC academy and another player with QPR in England.

What did this coach do to develop these players? (if anything) Make him the TD! Director of coaching development, can he give some clinics to new coaches? Reward those who produce!

There's a quick step in the right direction, easily achievable.

[Soccerpro]

Anyone think I'm on to something? Anyone? Looking for some reassurance here! Personally, I think I'm brilliant.

[Redcoatsforever]

Anyone think I'm on to something? Anyone? Looking for some reassurance here! Personally, I think I'm brilliant.

I think it could work, the only suggestion I would make is to subdivide the provinces with the highest populations to ensure more kids get opportunities. In Ontario, Ottawa Valley, Northern Ontario, and Southwestern Ontario frequently miss out on having high-level OSA clubs because they're all in the GTA.

[tmcmurph]

Small steps for the youth

1. Have standards based top tier leagues in each Province with mininimum training to game ratios and coaching qualification (no reason it can't be done)

2. Each Province should have a sports academy similar to the one already in Manitoba http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/schooling-future-soccer-stars-87318982.html A Manitoba u18 boys team won club nationals this year, the u18 girls team from Manitoba finished 2nd, coincidence? I think not.

3. Each Province/ bigger club should try to have a meaningful partnership with a European/South American Pro club which results in meaningful opportunities for players for exposure (ie Quebec with FC Metz, which has been productive, NOT Ontario with Everton which has been a waste) This is how Lucas Cavillini made it to where he is today, a club relationship - no one "scouted him" on his own in Ontario. For many players in Canada, it doesn't matter how good they because they'll never been seen by anyone at the next level.

4. Clubs/Provinces should sit down and try to get guidance/oversight from coaches with a proven track record for player development - ie FCNW u18 from Winnipeg won the u18 club nationals this year IN ADDITION to previously having placed a player with TFC academy and another player with QPR in England.

What did this coach do to develop these players? (if anything) Make him the TD! Director of coaching development, can he give some clinics to new coaches? Reward those who produce!

There's a quick step in the right direction, easily achievable.

1) Yes

2) Only for areas NOT covered by the 3 MLS teams. Stop the duplication of effort. CSA work with the prairies and eastern seaboard. Leave BC, southern Ontario and Quebec to the 3 MLS teams.

3) MLS teams develop for their own & CSA provides training for those who don't live in MLS areas or can't move there. I see no need for overseas partnering. That is a relic from a time when we had no MLS pro teams.

4) Agreed. You get the behaviour you reward. If you reward people for meaningless trophies they will focus on that. If you reward them for getting players to the next level they will focus on that. BINGO.

[Soccerpro]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/sports/Soccer-club-kicking-it-up-a-notch-174430711.html

FC Northwest is more than just a local success story — it may be one of the best soccer clubs in Canada.

[b/]The northwest Winnipeg organization was responsible for four of the six teams representing Manitoba at the male and female youth club nationals played across the country during the Thanksgiving Day long weekend.

The club’s under-18 boys won a gold medal in Sydney, N.S., defeating Ontario’s Erin Mills Eagles 2-1 in the final. The under-16 girls came up just short in Charlottetown, falling to a Burlington, Ont., club in the gold-medal match

If you’d rather measure the club’s success by the accomplishments of its players, look no further than Olympic bronze medalist Desiree Scott, a midfielder for the Canadian women’s national team. Or Dylan Carreiro, a member of the national under-20 men’s team and a prospect for the Queens Park Rangers of the English Premier League.

Head coach Larry Ladobruk is most proud of the players who have used their soccer talents to further their educations.

"It’s great that we’ve sent so many kids not just to national championships, but to colleges in the U.S.," said the Maples resident who’s been a full-time club employee for six years. "Eight got scholarships this year. That’s what it’s all about."

Ladobruk and club president Martino Vergata are proud of what the club has been able to accomplish despite having the fewest players to draw from of any of the city’s five districts.

Vergata, a Garden City resident, believes the implementation of the new Canadian Soccer Association model that called for the hiring of a club head coach played a huge role in FC Nortwest’s recent progress.

"It mirrors what’s being done worldwide," Vergata said. "The clubs are the ones that develop players, not the national programs."

Players at the premier level are on the pitch up to five days a week year-round, including three days at the club’s academy and twice with their own team.

"It used to be your team and that was it," Ladobruk said. "Now we have an opportunity to work with players and build their technical skills."

From the grassroots levels up until the players start competing for MSA Cups at the 14-and-under age group, winning isn’t nearly as important to the club as skill development, he said.

The club may have the smallest pool of players to draw from, but it does a great job of keeping kids in the program. By the time players are 12 or 13, most of them are willing to drop hockey and play indoor soccer in the winter.

And that’s where another one of the club’s advantages lies. Its indoor facility, with an artificial grass surface, provides a much better place to train than a school gym’s hardwood floor.

"It’s a much truer surface," Ladobruk said.

The next big step for the club is still in the works. FC Northwest is hoping to partner with a professional team to offer better exposure for its players and improved education for its coaches.

[Soccerpro]

1) Yes

2) Only for areas NOT covered by the 3 MLS teams. Stop the duplication of effort. CSA work with the prairies and eastern seaboard. Leave BC, southern Ontario and Quebec to the 3 MLS teams.

3) MLS teams develop for their own & CSA provides training for those who don't live in MLS areas or can't move there. I see no need for overseas partnering. That is a relic from a time when we had no MLS pro teams.

4) Agreed. You get the behaviour you reward. If you reward people for meaningless trophies they will focus on that. If you reward them for getting players to the next level they will focus on that. BINGO.

3) Are you saying TFC is nabbing all best Toronto players and none will fall through the cracks? There aren't any Lucas Cavallini's out there? I wouldn't call it a relic, I'd call it "every single opportunity is massive in this country of 4 pro teams"