Thoughts on Fonseca / TD Position

[fishman]

All Voyageurs know only too well the problems facing player development in Canada. Geography, weather, a dearth of suitable facilities (especially Indoor 11-a-side), scatter-gun approach to coaching education, a lack of a coast-to-coast D2/3 Professional league, political agendas and infighting. The list goes on.

One of Fonseca's challenges is to cut through these facts to sell a vision that the soccer community can accept and champion. More to the point, find a way to leverage clubs, associations, districts and provinces for more money. With an annual budget of under $20M, it is very difficult for the CSA to effect change on its own.

I can say, however, that Fonseca's current approach and argument is nothing less than motivating. He honestly is setting things up to explain why he won't have any success. He provides a laundry-list of everything that is wrong, and offers nothing uplifting, illuminating or exciting in the way of solutions. He blames our culture, parents, infighting...in short, he slings mud. And if I were the one with the ability to provide more funding - and at the same time getting tarred by his brush - I wouldn't be getting behind him anytime soon.

One other thing: if you want to lose credibility, Mr. Fonseca, make things up. Most progressive thinkers are very happy to listen to evidence-based arguments. Don't grab things out of thin air and pronounce them as fact. He ACTUALLY SAID that Brazilian kids hit their 10,000 hours of training by age 13! And Canadians don't hit their 10,000 hours until their late 20s.

Really, Tony? Do your math. That would mean from the MOMENT the kid is born, they are spending 14.8 hours a week, every week, training and playing soccer. Come on, man. Let's say he was starting from age 4 - that's 21.4 hours a week, 52 weeks a year.

If you want credibility, don't pull things out of your rear-end. Do the research - it's your job, after all.

[tmcmurph]

From the age of 4 on at 3 hours a day is not unheard of in other countries. I've known several who tell that tale and they were not the hard core kids by their own admission. They play at school during breaks, at lunch, in gym class, after school, after supper until dark. To be fair he may be correct. I agree about the catching more flies with honey than vinegar part of your post.

That and it will almost all be small sided games and futsal. So both quantity and quality of touches will be higher. When playing with your friends nobody gets kudos for being a good defender but if you can dribble past 2 players, shoot and score you are the hot shot of the neighbourhood. Hence the offensive skills and creativity are trained. That is something we have always lacked.

[VPjr]

frankly, i don't have a problem with slinging of some mud....it is needed....too many people in Canadian soccer are content with current mediocrity and lie to themselves that the work they are currently doing is sufficient when it is isnt.

Tony is being honest....truth hurts. I'm tired of people wanting the truth to be delivered candy coated.

If, a few years down the road, Tony has failed to deliver on some or all of his vision, some of the blame will be pinned on him but I am very confident that alot of the blame will be due to the fact that too many people in Canadian soccer do not want to embrace the huge and fundamentally transformative changes needed to address our many shortfalls.

As for the 10K hours being achieved in many countries by early teen years, this number has been used by many people, not just Tony....because they count non-organized play. By and large, our kids only play soccer in an organized environment as we all know too well. This is not the case in many parts of the world, although that is starting to change.

[red card]

I agree that mud needs to be slinged. Too many people in Cdn soccer think their way of doing things is fine even though all the facts point otherwise. And not enough names have been named especially at the provincial & club level that have stifled progress in the sport.

Before you solve anything, you need to agree on the facts. But most people are still at the denial stage.

[The Beaver]

It is vital to identify the problems, the challenges, but one of those challenges--a huge one--is getting all these disparate organizations to work together towards intelligent change, and if one's strategy is to merely ostracize these groups right out of the gates, then I suspect one will have an even tougher time getting the buy-in required for full scale, effective change. The smart move is to identify the challenges, the goals, and the steps to get there.

[Gordon]

Sounds like Mr. Fonseca has an understanding of The Stockdale Paradox.

[Soccerpro]

It seem Tony Fonseca recognizes many of the problems we face in Canada. I'm willing to give him some time to see what he can do. Soccer savy people who I respect say he knows what he's doing. It's unfair to throw him under the bus for what has happened in the past. I'll judge him in a few years.

[nolando]

As for the 10K hours being achieved in many countries by early teen years, this number has been used by many people, not just Tony....because they count non-organized play. By and large, our kids only play soccer in an organized environment as we all know too well. This is not the case in many parts of the world, although that is starting to change.

I have seen plenty of kids that would have hit 10K hours by that age in the two countries in which I lived. Ecuador and Japan's improvement on the world stage has been dramatic over the past 10-20 years, at this might be a part of the equation. In Japan, a serious future club player would be practicing virtually every single day through grade school, most of it skill-based training with their coach and teammates. In Ecuador there would be early age club time but also plenty of recreational ball outside of those times.

Think of hockey in earlier generations when people played on outdoor rinks all the time, especially in Quebec and Ontario, where my father was one of those children in the 30's and 40's. You couldn't get them away from the game, whether it was on an official club or just with the neighbourhood boys. You would have hits those kind of totals for hours on ice (or on pavement) easily. You rarely see that kind of unilateral dedication and enthusiasm for any sport with Canadian kids these days.

[madmonte]

You rarely see that kind of unilateral dedication and enthusiasm for any sport with Canadian kids these days.

Not true, we see it all the time in hockey. I personally know about 20 kids (I teach), that are absolutely obsessed with the sport. It's just that soccer is not as big in Canada as in Brazil that kids want to spend all their time playing it.

Well that and...

Maybe we should ban video games?

For that matter, we'd have to ban winter.

Canada has a lot of real challenges when it comes to soccer, the biggest being how huge our country is, which was something Jurgen Klinsman was also whining about in conjunction with the USA.

[VPjr]

I have seen plenty of kids that would have hit 10K hours by that age in the two countries in which I lived. Ecuador and Japan's improvement on the world stage has been dramatic over the past 10-20 years, at this might be a part of the equation. In Japan, a serious future club player would be practicing virtually every single day through grade school, most of it skill-based training with their coach and teammates. In Ecuador there would be early age club time but also plenty of recreational ball outside of those times.

Think of hockey in earlier generations when people played on outdoor rinks all the time, especially in Quebec and Ontario, where my father was one of those children in the 30's and 40's. You couldn't get them away from the game, whether it was on an official club or just with the neighbourhood boys. You would have hits those kind of totals for hours on ice (or on pavement) easily. You rarely see that kind of unilateral dedication and enthusiasm for any sport with Canadian kids these days.

completely agree and your hockey metaphor is perfect

[DigzTFC]

I think the major problem here is marketing/communications/pr. It's been an area of improvement for the CSA for a while but it is fairly typical of a small organization that has to prioritize their expenditures. Games are under marketed, journalists have to go through back doors to get information and ongoing communication to the general public is non-existent. What the CSA will realize over time is that they're role is really to market the game and the national teams. However, the first step is creating an environment where there are the maximum amount of healthy professional teams in order to have quality players to market.

Having said that, we've heard about the study almost two years ago. Even Jim Easton was left in the dark after he presented the first study. Months went by before the CSA talked to him again about doing the second study. So the issue of external communication is not limited to the general public, it would appear that its a larger issue with communications with all stakeholders.

I think what is happening is that members of the CSA are in meetings non-stop and they've become so insular that they forget their is a consumer they're suppose to market to and stakeholders they're suppose to communicate with. That's the same thing that's happened to LTPD from a national level, the professional league studies and whatever Fonseca's plan is. You can have meeting groups, sub-committees, consultants, foreign dignitaries or whatever but if you're not displaying your value to your consumer and stakeholders, no one is going to say you've done a good job.

Here's the analogy, imagine your spouse asked you to clean the garage. You say, "Sure honey, I'll get to it". A year and half goes by and there is no visible progress and no updates except some vague references to what it would be like if it was clean or how overwhelming the clutter is. Well imagine how frustrated your spouse becomes and how little confidence he/she has in you that you'll actually do something. What your spouse hasn't seen you do is cost out a 1-800-junk man, you try to sell a few items on Kijiji, you finding mold that requires asbestos removal etc. But if you don't tell anybody what you've done and simply reply I'm going to clean the garage....eventually nobody listens to you anymore.

[Soccerpro]

I have seen plenty of kids that would have hit 10K hours by that age in the two countries in which I lived. Ecuador and Japan's improvement on the world stage has been dramatic over the past 10-20 years, at this might be a part of the equation. In Japan, a serious future club player would be practicing virtually every single day through grade school, most of it skill-based training with their coach and teammates. In Ecuador there would be early age club time but also plenty of recreational ball outside of those times.

Think of hockey in earlier generations when people played on outdoor rinks all the time, especially in Quebec and Ontario, where my father was one of those children in the 30's and 40's. You couldn't get them away from the game, whether it was on an official club or just with the neighbourhood boys. You would have hits those kind of totals for hours on ice (or on pavement) easily. You rarely see that kind of unilateral dedication and enthusiasm for any sport with Canadian kids these days.

Lazy with electronics/computers, part time jobs from an earlier age, party party party

But in fairness, it's hard to have as many touches on the ball as Ecuador in this climate for part of the year. Would a nicer climate improve the number of touches here? Probably not at all.

[Trillium]

I would like to see one Technical Director sit down and write out what he/she wants to see in terms of the final product, that is what the National team style will be, the type of players they want to see, that is step one.

Second step is to then change the rules of the game as played at youth level to make the systemic change to get the step one result. The communication has to be written in a broken down to the monkey level of understanding so everyone understands, along with a glossary of terms so we are all speaking the same language.

Not Hart, or Fonseca or any other of the Technical Directors in any province has ever done this, I suspect its because they do not seem themselves in the role of teachers and of persons who will lay out a concrete plan with the multiple steps needed to be followed.

At this point it does not matter what the Step One choice is, be it possession football or long ball or some new invention, but it needs to laid out and given to clubs and coaches with no filter, that means in writing. Then let the coaches adopt or not, those that do will be rewarded as the players they train are selected to national sides.

All else from those in such technical positions is just chatter till they put things down on paper in writing, with diagrams for those of us who work better with pictures.

[fishman]

To clarify, I don't have a problem with a person speaking truth to power. Fonseca needs to underscore the challenges before him, and help the Provincial Associations, Districts and Clubs better understand WHY the CSA Technical Department needs more money.

But you need to be a Pied Piper, not a Pale Rider.

And on the 10,000 hour issue. I have no problem in stating the obvious - Brazilians have an opportunity through their culture, coaching, facilities, socio-economics, etc. to reach their potential at an earlier age. But to say that Brazilian kids are playing football, on average 4 hours a day, 7 days a week from the age of 4 is honestly disingenuous. It is perhaps possible a very, very, very small number of Brazilian footballers play that much from pre-school. But that wouldn't be the norm.

[tmcmurph]

To clarify, I don't have a problem with a person speaking truth to power. Fonseca needs to underscore the challenges before him, and help the Provincial Associations, Districts and Clubs better understand WHY the CSA Technical Department needs more money.

But you need to be a Pied Piper, not a Pale Rider.

And on the 10,000 hour issue. I have no problem in stating the obvious - Brazilians have an opportunity through their culture, coaching, facilities, socio-economics, etc. to reach their potential at an earlier age. But to say that Brazilian kids are playing football, on average 4 hours a day, 7 days a week from the age of 4 is honestly disingenuous. It is perhaps possible a very, very, very small number of Brazilian footballers play that much from pre-school. But that wouldn't be the norm.

I agree on the first part but seriously talk to a lot of people from other (especially poorer) countries and you'll see that 3 hours a day is not unusual. A ball, some space, some markers (bottles, old shoes) for goal posts and away they go. Without other sports competing for their time it isn't that hard to end up doing 3 hours a day.

[rob.notenboom]

To turn the 10,000hr discussion around for a second, I teach a few elite level high school players, a couple have also spent time in the Whitecaps system and I can say that none of them averages 2hrs/day over a 365 day year (730 hours in a year). Admittedly none of these players are on a pro-track and also that Regina is not exactly the hub of soccerdom in Canada but I think if we simply compared # of hours in S. America/Central America/Europe to # of hours in Canada we would find that Canadian players have a serious deficit of playing time regardless of when ppl get 10,000 hours in.