CBC-Sports

Offside: Fixing Canadian soccer - we're just getting started

April 14, 2009 09:41 AM | Posted by   Jason de Vos  

CBC Sports soccer commentator Jason de Vos examines the state of Canadian soccer in Offside, a multi-part blog series exclusive to CBCSports.ca.

I would like to start off by thanking everyone for taking the time to comment on last week's blog. Your overwhelming response only underlines my belief that there is a tremendous level of support for the game of soccer in Canada.

I have read every one of your comments, and some of you have made some excellent points. Many of you suggested using the development program from Hockey Canada as a model for developing Canadian soccer talent. While this is an interesting suggestion, there are two areas where this concerns me.

First, the facilities for hockey in Canada are far better than the facilities for soccer. Every small town across the country has a decent arena in which to play hockey. Can the same be said for soccer fields in those same towns?

Second, the level of coaching in Canadian hockey, at all levels, is vastly superior to the level of coaching in Canadian soccer. Until we see a massive improvement in this area, we will continue to struggle when it comes to player development.

Some more reader comments:

InacioTdS wrote that, "...grassroots soccer (in Canada) is better than Brazil."

I agree with that statement in the sense that our participation numbers at the grassroots level are quite good. The problem lies in the structure of development. How do talented kids move up through the competitive system to reach the elite level? Are we doing enough to identify and develop players who have potential? At present, too many talented players are either not being given the opportunity to progress, or are being overlooked completely. In my opinion, the process of identifying and developing talent needs to change.

Susan Meyer wrote, "if we have to play at Azteca in August or Tegucigalpa in June… then by all means, welcome to the hospitality of Commonwealth Stadium in mid-November."

When it comes to qualifying for the World Cup, everything has to be in our favour. We need to play to the best of our abilities, we need to be tactically superb, and we need to win our home games. If that means a bit of creative scheduling to put the opposition at a disadvantage, so be it. There is nothing wrong with wanting to win, and home field advantage should be just that, an advantage. Our opponents certainly won't be doing us any favours when we play away from home.

I still get annoyed when I think back to our World Cup qualifying campaign in 2000. Our first game of the group stage was against Trinidad in Edmonton. I ran out onto the pitch for the warm-up, and there was a reggae band on the field, doing their best to make our visitors feel at home. I can assure you, the Mexican FA never invited the Tragically Hip to play the Azteca prior to our games down there.

Neener420 wrote in with, “two key words, coaching and scouting."

These two areas are sorely lacking in Canadian soccer right now, and the current structure is making little headway in addressing this issue. It will only change, however, if those in positions of influence decide to alter the way that players are identified and developed.

All of these points will be addressed in the weeks ahead. The release dates and the topics of discussion are as follows:

April 27 - Player Development
May 4 - Coaching the Coaches
May 11 - Training and Competition
May 18 - Who’s in Charge?
May 25 - Getting to the World Cup

Many of you have written of your frustration with the governing bodies of soccer in our country. Having spoken with many members of both the provincial and national associations, I can assure you that they are just as eager as you are to implement some changes that will benefit the game of soccer in Canada.

So keep your comments coming, folks. Your voices are being heard.

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