Academies or Regional or The OPDL

[Protega]

You  should see what's going on with youth soccer in Ottawa.  Seven clubs pulled out of the local league for U9 - U12 and formed their own league to avoid playing against one specific club that they struggle against on the field.  They have been very deliberate in setting the criteria for the league in such a way that this one club probably can't meet the criteria (it's a smaller, elite program).  Apparently their plan is to leave this one club with less competition, hoping parents will move their kids from there.

Not surprising, given that most of these seven clubs refuse to even play friendly games for fear of looking bad.  But I was really surprised the OSA has approved this.  Two of the clubs are the OPDL clubs in Ottawa, so the OSA is probably desperate to prop up OPDL at any cost.

CSA needs to step in, because there's a lot of funny business going on at the OSA.

[Levi Oakey]

51 minutes ago, Protega said:

You  should see what's going on with youth soccer in Ottawa.  Seven clubs pulled out of the local league for U9 - U12 and formed their own league to avoid playing against one specific club that they struggle against on the field.  They have been very deliberate in setting the criteria for the league in such a way that this one club probably can't meet the criteria (it's a smaller, elite program).  Apparently their plan is to leave this one club with less competition, hoping parents will move their kids from there.

Not surprising, given that most of these seven clubs refuse to even play friendly games for fear of looking bad.  But I was really surprised the OSA has approved this.  Two of the clubs are the OPDL clubs in Ottawa, so the OSA is probably desperate to prop up OPDL at any cost.

CSA needs to step in, because there's a lot of funny business going on at the OSA.

Hmm, you have details of this somewhere?

[Kent]

1 hour ago, Protega said:

You  should see what's going on with youth soccer in Ottawa.  Seven clubs pulled out of the local league for U9 - U12 and formed their own league to avoid playing against one specific club that they struggle against on the field.  They have been very deliberate in setting the criteria for the league in such a way that this one club probably can't meet the criteria (it's a smaller, elite program).  Apparently their plan is to leave this one club with less competition, hoping parents will move their kids from there.

Not surprising, given that most of these seven clubs refuse to even play friendly games for fear of looking bad.  But I was really surprised the OSA has approved this.  Two of the clubs are the OPDL clubs in Ottawa, so the OSA is probably desperate to prop up OPDL at any cost.

CSA needs to step in, because there's a lot of funny business going on at the OSA.

If this is true, this is really deflating news. What the hell are people thinking?

[BCM]

12 minutes ago, Kent said:

If this is true, this is really deflating news. What the hell are people thinking?

That wins are the objective in U-9s, not building technical skills. Until this mindset changes, our youths will continue to play kick and chase (the team with the fastest forward wins) and we will continue to suffer as a footballing nation.

[Kent]

12 minutes ago, BCM1555362349 said:

That wins are the objective in U-9s, not building technical skills. Until this mindset changes, our youths will continue to play kick and chase (the team with the fastest forward wins) and we will continue to suffer as a footballing nation.

And even worse than the over prioritization of winning, it's making sure you only play the teams you believe you can beat.

Every team involved in this ridiculous situation can end the year saying "Woohoo! We were undefeated this season, not counting the games against teams that shouldn't be allowed to play because of how good they are."

[Gopherbashi]

This story seems suspiciously one-sided.

[Protega]

38 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

This story seems suspiciously one-sided.

If you were to see the games/play you would understand.  Parents from various clubs tend to like what they see from this one program and some end up moving there as a result.  So these other clubs are trying to limit the parents' exposure to them in an effort to avoid kids leaving.  Up until the past year or so, this club has then tended to lose a lot of players to the two OPDL teams at U13; that movement slowed down significantly last year and this coming season, so they're doing what they can to try and get people to leave there before U13.

I guess it does sound one-sided, but anyone in Ottawa would know what I'm talking about.

[Protega]

2 hours ago, Levi Oakey said:

Hmm, you have details of this somewhere?

The clubs involved have distributed documents among themselves, but not to the general public.  OSA and EODSA would be involved, but they're keeping quiet as well.

[Levi Oakey]

Could you at least name the youth club?

[Protega]

Here's a typical example of what's happening in Ottawa.  This link is to the website for the Ottawa Futsal League, which has operated for a long time:

http://www.futsalottawa.com/

This link is to a competing futsal league started by a club out of spite this past winter:

https://www.ottawafutsal.com/

Apparently they didn't like that the futsal league was also entering teams in the summer league.

[Levi Oakey]

48 minutes ago, Protega said:

Here's a typical example of what's happening in Ottawa.  This link is to the website for the Ottawa Futsal League, which has operated for a long time:

http://www.futsalottawa.com/

This link is to a competing futsal league started by a club out of spite this past winter:

https://www.ottawafutsal.com/

Apparently they didn't like that the futsal league was also entering teams in the summer league.

Just a quick look around. I don't know. That looks like FutsalOttawa wants to be a club that plays in Futsal tournaments and that Ottawa Futsal would rather have Futsal be winter sport while full field soccer isn't available.

Why they chose the same name is probably more revealing but I can see the two different approaches. Futsal Ottawa sees itself as a Futsal Club. Ottawa Futsal sees itself as inter-city league.

[Dominic94]

There's now an Ontario academy league 

[Protega]

3 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

There's now an Ontario academy league 

Looks like it's for the non-SAAC ORA's.

[Saviola7]

The press release itself is slightly contradictory, but one interpretation is that it is a U8-U12 league with the intent to integrate those players into OPDL at U13. Not sure how that would work. In any event, it is described as a 2 year pilot.

[Protega]

43 minutes ago, Saviola7 said:

The press release itself is slightly contradictory, but one interpretation is that it is a U8-U12 league with the intent to integrate those players into OPDL at U13. Not sure how that would work. In any event, it is described as a 2 year pilot.

The press release is a little confusing.  It does explicitly say the OSA will run the OASL for the U13 - U17 age groups.  I wonder if the reference to the U9 - U12 age groups just means it won't be a league, but simply home and away games (with no standings)?

It's interesting that all but one of the ORA academies (Northern Soccer Academy) are either in SAAC or the OASL.  I wonder whether those will all get folded together at some point.

[Kent]

This looks like a step in the right direction. So I guess this league would be at a lower level than OPDL, but under the OSA umbrella, and teams in this league would have the opportunity to apply to be an OPDL member. At least, that's my best guess at interpreting this news.

We still need to include SAAC teams as well. Does anybody know if the SAAC teams have any desire to be included in OPDL?

[Saviola7]

All ORNCAs (including SAAC teams) may now apply to OPDL. The barriers for them are typically twofold:

1) The need for audited financial statements over the past three years,

2) The lack of a bone-fide grassroots program.

 

The first point is a big hurdle since as not-for-profits, clubs already have to prepare such statements and private organizations have to shell out extra money to do so. See:

http://www.powersoccer.ca/content/opdl-debriefs-confirm-saac-excellence-technical-organizational-standards/

There are many academies that have grassroots (i.e., house league programs down to U6), but not all. Note that there are some consortiums that are currently OPDL license holders that do not have their own grassroots program, but are linked to clubs which do (Athlete Institute, Hamilton United, United FA).

[Kent]

3 hours ago, Saviola7 said:

All ORNCAs (including SAAC teams) may now apply to OPDL. The barriers for them are typically twofold:

1) The need for audited financial statements over the past three years,

2) The lack of a bone-fide grassroots program.

 

The first point is a big hurdle since as not-for-profits, clubs already have to prepare such statements and private organizations have to shell out extra money to do so. See:

http://www.powersoccer.ca/content/opdl-debriefs-confirm-saac-excellence-technical-organizational-standards/

There are many academies that have grassroots (i.e., house league programs down to U6), but not all. Note that there are some consortiums that are currently OPDL license holders that do not have their own grassroots program, but are linked to clubs which do (Athlete Institute, Hamilton United, United FA).

Interesting, thanks for that Saviola7. That article was from November 2013, so I guess the fact that these academies still aren't in the OPDL probably means they don't think the extra financial investment is worth it to get into OPDL. Hopefully some day both sides can agree on the best way to move forward.

[Offside]

Are the teams in this OASL , the teams that will be competing against local clubs like NMSC, Erin mills, Dixie, ............ and others, just confused with so many leagues and clubs and academies

[Saviola7]

10 hours ago, Offside said:

Are the teams in this OASL , the teams that will be competing against local clubs like NMSC, Erin mills, Dixie, ............ and others, just confused with so many leagues and clubs and academies

No, this is a separate league from the clubs.

[Offside]

Why not have just one league instead of so many and which league is right or wrong, at the end of the day it's all about money 

[Kent]

Yeah, I can understand that teams that don't meet the requirements for OPDL aren't allowed to be in that league. But what's one level down from that? Why aren't the clubs and academies playing against each other at that level (is it OYSL? Or is it regional leagues?)

[Saviola7]

34 minutes ago, Kent said:

Yeah, I can understand that teams that don't meet the requirements for OPDL aren't allowed to be in that league. But what's one level down from that? Why aren't the clubs and academies playing against each other at that level (is it OYSL? Or is it regional leagues?)

There is no OYSL anymore (except at older ages at which it is being phased out), thus one level down are the regional leagues, which operate in the summer and are club-only.

Clubs and academies in Ontario can play each other at tournaments (including Ontario Cup) and at the indoor winter leagues (i.e., Hershey).

I can't speak for other tournaments, but Ontario Cup and indoor leagues seem to only feature non-SAAC teams which have mixed results.

It is therefore difficult to say who is avoiding who. Are the clubs/districts restricting the academies? Is is because they don't want to legitimize a system which may turn into haves and have-nots? Or do the academies actually have no interest in competing against the clubs since if they do not perform well, the parents might realise that they are paying a couple thousand dollars extra for no clear benefit? If the academies are not outclassing the clubs at Ontario Cup, then maybe the latter theory holds water, I don't know though. Although I'm certain that a lot of resistance comes from the clubs/districts too.

[Protega]

On ‎2017‎-‎03‎-‎16 at 3:13 PM, Offside said:

The only thing is too many politics at tfc, with the coaches and they look for size 

I got the sense it was the clubs that were trying to avoid the academies (certainly the stronger academies I know of would love to play the clubs if they got the chance).  Didn't the OSA approve the Umbro Top Rated showcase for OPDL clubs a couple of seasons ago, but then apparently leaned on the tournament organizers to keep the OPDL teams separate from everyone else?  I thought that might have been the summer before last?

[Kent]

1 hour ago, Saviola7 said:

There is no OYSL anymore (except at older ages at which it is being phased out), thus one level down are the regional leagues, which operate in the summer and are club-only.

Clubs and academies in Ontario can play each other at tournaments (including Ontario Cup) and at the indoor winter leagues (i.e., Hershey).

I can't speak for other tournaments, but Ontario Cup and indoor leagues seem to only feature non-SAAC teams which have mixed results.

It is therefore difficult to say who is avoiding who. Are the clubs/districts restricting the academies? Is is because they don't want to legitimize a system which may turn into haves and have-nots? Or do the academies actually have no interest in competing against the clubs since if they do not perform well, the parents might realise that they are paying a couple thousand dollars extra for no clear benefit? If the academies are not outclassing the clubs at Ontario Cup, then maybe the latter theory holds water, I don't know though. Although I'm certain that a lot of resistance comes from the clubs/districts too.

Sounds like the same mentality that the CMNT usually plays like. Afraid of looking bad rather than trying to look good. These teams should be playing each other to learn from each other, and then promoting themselves based on the accomplishments of their graduates (pro contracts, scholarships, national team caps, etc). Who cares if one is identified as a "club" and another as an "academy".