Since joining Red Nation Online I’ve covered the topic of youth development in Canada fairly extensively and strive to “keep it real” on the subject whether my opinions are seen as overly positive/negative or neutral.
Soccer development in this country has done some great things in recent times; there are more academy programs now more ever before, with the crown jewels being the academies of Toronto FC, Montréal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps. Also there is strong talk/debate of a Canadian Second Division, new franchises are slowly but surly popping up and the Canadian National Teams, in my opinion, at least seem to be getting more attention than in the past.
However, through casual discussion with players, parents and coaches I’ve noticed two disturbing trends in youth development that left unnoticed, or even worse continually encouraged, will truly play a major role in the regression of soccer in this country. The two trends I’m speaking of are:
A) Favoring older players over developing young talent in order to win
B) Brainwashing players to have a single-minded focus on playing in Europe
The first trend has been eradicated from some clubs entirely and others are starting to adopt this approach, but for the most part is still very much in place. Many clubs and coaches seem to play favorites with older players so that they can win whatever shiny trinket is on offer, even if it’s to the detriment of what should be Canadian soccer’s ultimate goal.
Athletes, and in this case soccer players, may often do or say dumb things especially at young ages when it comes to something they care about like their development in the sport they love. They take their progress very seriously and are very diligent, even in the lower leagues/academies of Canadian soccer. Players will go where they are wanted and feel is the best fit for them.
When said player finds a club that is “the right fit” he/she will then tell all their friends who are likely just as skilled to join them. If we are to continue our rise as a developing soccer nation the emphasis needs to be on skill development and being well rounded players rather than simply winning a match. I may very well be in the minority on this one but contrary to popular belief, in my opinion, “learning how to win” is the biggest bunch of nonsense I’ve ever heard and is something that people in roles of authority (coaches, parents etc…) will use as a means to motivate. In my mind wanting to be successful is a part of human nature and isn’t something that needs to be taught (Have you ever heard someone say their goal in life is to fail?). However, while this trend will take some work to completely disappears the second one might be impossible.
With the EPL, Serie A, La Liga, UEFA Champions League etc… continually growing in popularity, and how much easier to access in Canada, it’s only natural for soccer players dream to be playing at the highest level. That said, it’s up to coaches and parents to keep their players/children grounded and focus on the little steps toward the big picture. While some do a great job of this, most that I’ve ever talked to personally or overheard just live through the successes of their player/child, have a fixation with Europe.
For example, I remember a casual conversation I had about recent soccer matches, and while Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United were natural topics of discussion, when I asked did you see the Toronto FC game? Or, did you go to the Canada game? I received a bunch of blank looks. When I followed up with the question do you guys watch MLS? I was told everything from it's poor quality to other remarks that I’d rather not write. I’m not saying nothing can be learned from watching European matches but to barely know what’s going on within the country you play in is both frustrating and sad. Obviously someone is in their ear and what they’re being told doesn’t bode well for soccer in this country or our future generations of players.
What I notice the trend becoming is players will go anywhere in Europe to try and make it whether they are truly ready to take the plunge or not. However, it’s usually the third or forth division of an under developed league that is no better off then what we currently have. What happens next is for one reason or another they “can’t hack it” and end up back in Canada where they started, only worse off because they wasted valuable time that could have been used on development.
This needs to stop.
Players in their prime developing ages can’t keep going on this merry-go-round and instead need to be educated on their realistic options. Not all the responsibility can be put on parents and coaches though, leagues like MLS, NASL and collegiately the CIS need to do more publicly to steer players in their direction.
Overall as a developing soccer nation we are taking some major strides forward and those are, and should continue to be celebrated. However, when things like this are still going on it has the feeling of taking one gigantic step back and personally makes me worry about where we’ll be 10-15 years from now.
Kamal Hylton is Owner/Freelance Soccer Writer at Hylton Sports Media,
he specializes in covering Youth Development in Canada and the
CONCACAF Region as well as European leagues such as Bundesliga, Serie A and UEFA Champions League. Follow him on Twitter to view all
his work.
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